Keeping Her a Secret
by SilentSnowfall
Summary: A battle leaves Sakura injured and unconscious in the woods. Sasuke stumbles upon her and, against his better judgement, takes her with him.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm finally writing a Sasuke & Sakura fic! They're probably my favorite couple, but I just haven't felt creative enough to try out this story idea I had for them. Anyway, this is my first story with chapters since I figured it would be too long for a one-shot.**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own Naruto. Big Surprise.**

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Sakura stood in front of the door to the Hokage's office, waiting for the order to enter. She had been informed that she was to be sent out in search of a group of rogue ninja that had recently been plundering small villages along the border, and was now waiting for more specifics from the Hokage before setting out.

"Come in." Tsunade's voice instructed from inside the room.

Sakura entered and walked to the front of the large desk and asked "I'm here about my new mission?"

"Yes, yes. As you know, a group of rogue ninja have been attacking border villages. I need you to seek them out and either capture or kill the members of the group. From our information, it looks like there are three men who make up the team, and they were last seen northwest of here." Tsunade explained.

"Hai. I'll do it as quickly as possible Tsunade-sama." Sakura answered.

"Just don't get reckless Sakura, we don't need you getting yourself killed. These men are strong, and they've shown this by not getting caught yet. Do you want someone else to go with you? I've got a few people around who are free to help." Tsunade offered.

"Oh no, thank you though, but I'll be fine by myself." Sakura quickly replied.

"In that case, good luck!" Tsunade said, smiling kindly at her student.

Sakura walked from the room and headed for the main entrance. Once she crossed through the gate, she picked up her pace and jumped into the trees, heading northwest.

After a few hours of travel, she came upon a small village and asked if they had seen the ninjas she was after. The villagers pointed her in the direction and she took off once more.

Sakura went deeper and deeper into the woods, until she found a recently used campsite. Stopping, she looked around for any clues that would give her an idea of where to go next. Finding a broken branch to her left told her to go in that direction. After awhile of following in that line, she became aware of the presence of three people ahead of her. Instantly she paused to think of a plan of attack. Barging into their midst wouldn't give her an advantage, so she would have to sneak up on them somehow in the hopes of finishing one off before the others realized. Sakura took a deep breath, hid her chakra from detection, and slunk forward, trying to not make any noise.

She was so intent on not being noticed, she didn't realize she had tripped a wire until it was too late. Kunai shot at her from the trees and she quickly dodged before she got hit. Leaves and bark flew into the air around her as one of the rogue ninja leapt at her, sword held high in the air for an attack. Diving to the side, Sakura narrowly missed the glinting blade, but got cut by another kunai thrown from behind. She whipped around and looked for the latest attacker, but couldn't find him.

Turning back to the first ninja she threw a punch and landed it on his sword arm. The bone in the man's arm cracked from the force and she had a second to assess the situation while he regained his composure. Sakura could tell that the other two men were hiding somewhere nearby, ready to step in at the perfect time. She knew she had to search them out before they gained the upper hand.

At that moment, she felt a sharp pain tear through her left arm. She quickly looked down to see that the man's sword had left a deep slice from her elbow to her wrist. Mentally kicking herself for letting her guard down, she lashed out at the man with her right fist. She caught his jaw and he fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Hurriedly running away from the fight scene, she held up her glowing green hand to the gash in her arm, stopping most of the bleeding.

Not a second after she was done, did she have to dodge yet another attack. Both of the other rogue ninjas appeared, and were coming at her with kunai. She was able to evade one, but ended up getting scratched by the other. Gathering some chakra in her foot, she kicked out at one of the men and just missed hitting his hip. Suddenly off balance, she wasn't able to avoid getting stabbed in the thigh by the kunai held in the ninja's hand. Trying to ignore the pain, she pulled a kunai from her pouch and slashed one of the men on the cheek. Sakura sprang away from the tight area in which she was fighting and retreated to a larger clearing where she would have a better chance for success. Both men followed her, and continued to attack.

Unbeknownst to her, the man with the broken jaw was also a medic-nin and had healed himself while she was grappling with the other two. As the two ninjas came at her from the front, the newly healed man crept up from behind and stabbed through her stomach. Sakura gasped and put her hand to her stomach to try to stop the blood. Her hand began to glow as she healed as much as she could while still fending off the attacks of the three men. _This is going to be a lot tougher than I thought._ She said to herself as she threw punch after punch at the rogue ninjas.

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Sasuke skirted around the edge of a small village, looking to make sure there were no guards keeping watch around the house of the village leader. He was on a mission from Orochimaru to assassinate the leader of this village who had recently begun standing up to the bullies Orochimaru sent to collect money.

The sun was setting and Sasuke was bathed in the orange glow. He retreated into the woods a bit further to wait until the sky was darker and he would be less likely to be seen. At that point, he would sneak in and kill the leader before anyone knew what was going on. Now, all he had to do was wait.

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Sakura was panting and leaning against a big tree while the last two men lifted themselves off the ground. She had managed to finish one with a chakra enhanced punch to the face, but she was still caught up with the other two. Trees were broken and scattered around the clearing and there were many pits in the ground from the numerous times she had missed a body and hit the earth instead.

She looked down at herself to see how badly she was injured. Her left hand had a few broken fingers, various cuts of different deepness were all over her body, and the wounds in her stomach and thigh from earlier were hindering her ability to move. However, she still fared better than the last two men. They were bleeding profusely and each had a broken arm. Sakura straightened and approached the men, ready to continue fighting. She hoped that this fight wouldn't take much longer since the sun was setting and it would soon be getting dark.

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Satisfied with the amount of darkness, Sasuke left the woods and silently leapt onto the roof of one of the village houses. Angling toward the leader's house, he ran without making a sound. Once he reached the big traditional Japanese house, he paused and focused on finding the presence of the leader. From what he could tell, the man was sitting alone in his room and nobody was near enough to be able to hear anything going on.

Sasuke dropped to the porch, quietly opened the sliding door, and took a step into the room. At that moment, the floor squeaked and the man turned around. Before he could even yell, Sasuke had his hand over the leader's mouth and had slit his throat with a kunai. After making sure the man was dead, Sasuke left the room and jumped back onto the roof. Not caring about being silent anymore, he ran over the rooftops back into the woods.

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The last of the three men was swaying where he stood in front of Sakura. The bodies of the two others were lying on the ground, and Sakura was having trouble moving and breathing due to a cracked rib. _I need to finish this quickly, or else I am done for. I can't keep this up._ She thought to herself as she began to gather the last of her chakra into her right hand. Hoping that this would work, she lifted her fist into the air and promptly punched the ground.

A large boom shook the surrounding area; creating craters in the earth and making trees fall down around them. The man had not anticipated the sudden attack and tried to jump away from the crumbling rock beneath him. However, in his haste he misjudged the angle and slammed into a tree.

Crumpling to the ground he moaned and tried to move away from the base of the tree before his opponent was able to attack him. Sakura picked up the abandoned sword from the first rogue ninja and advanced toward the broken man on the ground. Using the last bit of her energy, she stabbed him through the chest.

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The woods were a blur as Sasuke sped away from the small village, wanting to get away before anyone noticed that their leader had been killed. He hated how he was so often used only as a tool to complete Orochimaru's dirty work, when he really wanted to train to become stronger. Simple missions only wasted his time.

Sasuke's speed lessened as the distance between him and the village increased. The need to run had ceased and he was now able to take a slower pace for the path back to Orochimaru's hideout. He wondered if the snake would be around when he got back, or if he could spend some time developing new techniques without being sent on anymore missions.

Suddenly, a loud boom ricocheted around the surrounding forest, making the ground tremble and the trees shake, almost knocking him off balance. He paused and steadied himself against the trunk of the tree he was on, wondering if he should go investigate the source of the noise. Deciding he could put off going back to the hideout, Sasuke quickly began running toward the explosion.

o----------------------------------------------------------------------o

Sakura staggered away from the man she had just killed, trying to find a safe place where she could rest and recover from the battle that had stolen more energy than she had planned. She was having trouble seeing as her vision kept blurring from the loss of blood. Trying to staunch some of the bleeding she put her hand to one of her wounds and began to bring chakra to the area. Despite her attempts, there just wasn't enough chakra to begin any sort of healing process and she gave up.

Accidently stumbling over a piece of lose earth, Sakura fell facedown to the dirt. She knew she needed to get to a safe place before anyone showed up to investigate the source of all the destruction and noise she knew she had created. Unable to move any part of her body she felt helpless as she slowly lost consciousness.

o-----------------------------------------------------------------------o

Sasuke could see fallen trees up ahead and knew he was getting close to the cause of the disturbance. He stopped and waited, listening for any sound that could clue him in to what might be happening. The woods were silent, but he could feel the faint presence of someone nearby. Cautiously moving ahead, he stood on the branch of a tree next to all the wreckage. He could see the bodies of four people lying on the ground, three men and one woman.

From the branch, Sasuke looked closely at all of the people and tried to see if any of them were still alive. The men all appeared to be dead, but the woman was still breathing, slightly. He jumped down from the tree and approached the female lying on the ground. She was unconscious and covered in blood with her face directed away from him, but she seemed familiar. He crouched, and turned the girl over onto her back.

Sasuke stood up and took a step back, as memories that he had tried to lock away hit him from all angles. She was older than he remembered, but that was to be expected as it had been years since he had last seen her. And although the blue twilight pervaded the woods causing the woman's hair to look slightly purple, he could still remember the bubblegum pink that it really was.

_Shit!_ He thought. _Now what am I supposed to do?_ Sasuke hadn't thought he would face a setback like this. He had only planned on checking out the noise and leaving before he was noticed and dragged into another fight. He never imagined he would have to deal with something like this.

The best idea would be to leave her; there was no rule that said you had to take care of old fallen comrades when you find them in the woods. That way she would have no idea that they had crossed paths, and would be able to go back to her village. But would she be able to get back to the village?

It looked like she was injured pretty badly and could possibly bleed to death before morning, not to mention other people and forest creatures that might arrive during the night. Taking her with him, however, would cause numerous questions on the part of Orochimaru and the Hidden Leaf Village. Whatever choice he made, he knew the Hidden Leaf Village would send people to look if Sakura didn't show up, but that could take days.

Sasuke looked down at her and sighed. He picked her up and began making his way back to the hideout with Sakura in his arms.

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**Okay, there we go. First chapter down! Hahaha! I am going to really try to write as much as I can to get more chapters out soon. I recently had time due to my school's winter break, but now I am going to have a bunch of essays to do (which really take out any desire to write). I don't like writing fight scenes, so it probably isn't that great. Sorry for all the jumping between Sasuke and Sakura. It didn't look that crazy on Microsoft Word... **

**Has anyone else noticed that Naruto Shippuden is one the DisneyXD channel (which is supposed to be like their "anime"/older kid stuff, I think)? Yeah. I was flipping through stuff and found it. But really, on DISNEY?!?!? How are they going to handle Sai and Hidan? Of all channels I expected it to come back to Cartoon Network in Adult Swim, or something. But whatever, I have no control over that.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, chapter two is up, but it's only a measly 689 words. **

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Traveling through the darkness with Sakura held bridal style in his arms, Sasuke kept an eye out for any potential danger. He knew that the wooded area around Orochimaru's hideout was usually deserted, but he didn't want to count on generalities today.

He looked down at the female and told himself for the hundredth time that taking her was a bad idea, it was just too dangerous. Sasuke had no clue what Orochimaru would do if he found out. Would he simply kick Sakura out? No, not if she had already seen anything inside. Would she be kept and used as a test subject in one of his gruesome experiments? Probably, since Orochimaru wouldn't want to waste the chance for a new victim.

And what would happen to him, Sasuke? Would he be thrown out? Not likely, he was too important in Orochimaru's plans. Actually, now that he thought about it, he doubted anything would be done to him. He might get a simple reprimand, but other than that nothing too bad. Sasuke basically had free reign whenever he didn't have a specific order from the top, and there was no rule against bringing people into the place.

The trees began to thin as he approached the entrance to the hideout, and he paused to think things through before waltzing right in. He knelt on the branch and set Sakura down. This particular hideout was one of the more permanent settings of Orochimaru's which meant it held a lot more people. There were numerous servants housed inside, as well as guards and loyal minions of Orochimaru.

Sasuke's room was far enough away from the busy center of the underground community that he wouldn't need to pass by too many potential spies of Orochimaru's, but he was far enough in from the edges that he would need a great amount of skill and luck to make it without being seen. However, Sasuke had skill, and was sure of his ability to sneak her in without suspicion.

He looked at Sakura and noticed her wounds were leaving little pools of red on the bark of the branch. Sasuke took off his loose, open fronted shirt, and wrapped Sakura entirely inside it so that her blood wouldn't leave trails through the hallways inside.

Sasuke went closer to the entrance of the hideout and tried to sense if anyone was nearby. Not sensing any presence of life, Sasuke silently ran inside with Sakura draped over one shoulder. The hallways were dark and quiet and Sasuke moved through them quickly. He turned corner after corner until the hallways became brighter with the promise of more light up ahead.

Usually he would continue going straight and take the more direct route to his room, but in the present situation he decided to use the less traveled paths where the chance of running into people was smaller.

As he went down another hall, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching from up ahead. He quickly ducked around the nearest corner and leaned back into the shadows, waiting for the person to pass. The servant walked past, ignorant of the tense man only a few meters away.

Sasuke waited until the echoing footfalls could no longer be heard, and continued on his way.

Soon he came to the heavy wooden door that was the entrance to his room. He opened it and stepped into the awaiting darkness. He fumbled around for the light switch and then went to drop Sakura onto his bed. He unwrapped her from his bloodstained shirt, but left her lying on it.

Sasuke looked down at her wondering what he should do next. Reporting to Orochimaru would have usually been what he would have done first, so he went to his small closet and pulled out a shirt identical to the one he had just been wearing. He glanced back over to Sakura and decided that she would be safe there; it wasn't likely that she would wake up in the next few minutes.

Sasuke went back through the door and made his way to where he knew the snake would be waiting.

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**Yeah, that was a short chapter. I'm sorry. It looked much longer on MS word. I was going to add more, but that last sentence seemed like a good stopping point and I thought that I might as well upload it now. Hope you enjoyed it at least!**


	3. Chapter 3

As Sasuke approached the very center of the underground hideout, the lights grew dimmer. Orochimaru preferred that the people coming to see him were weakened in some way, and having less light was one of his choices. Sasuke didn't let it faze him. He was used to the twisted workings of the snake and his servants, and was confident in the strength of his standing with Orochimaru.

The end of the narrow hallway expanded into the large chamber in which Orochimaru was sitting, Kabuto close by his side. Sasuke walked until he was a few meters away from them and stopped.

Orochimaru leaned forward in his chair and said "Sasuke, I see that you have made it back from your little mission."

"Hn." Sasuke replied.

"Talkative as ever, I guess." Orochimaru chuckled. "Did you run into any trouble? It took you longer to return than I expected."

"The guards caught on to me at the very end, and I had to shake them off in the forest." Sasuke lied.

"Well then, alright. I will contact you again when I need another mission completed. For now, do whatever you please." Orochimaru smiled while leaning back into the chair. Sasuke turned and left, aware of the eyes that were watching him go.

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Sasuke opened the door to him room and quickly closed it behind him. He walked over to the bed where the girl was laying and assessed her injuries. She had what looked like a broken rib, a couple of broken fingers, and a bad cut in her thigh, not to mention various slashes over her entire body.

He went to his closet and rummaged around for his first aid kit. Once found, he opened it while walking back toward the still unconscious Sakura. He peeled off some of her outer clothes, leaving her in her netted undershirt and tight black shorts. Taking out some ointment and some bandages, he began to clean up some of the cuts and bruises.

Sasuke had no idea what to do with the broken bones, but attempted to set the fingers in splints anyway. The broken rib, he figured, would have to just stay the way it was until the girl could heal herself.

Once he was done, Sasuke rolled Sakura off of his shirt and into the center of his queen sized bed. He balled up his bloodstained shirt along with the bits of her clothes he had taken off. He would have to burn them in order to destroy the evidence. He wouldn't put it past Orochimaru to order a simple blood test on his shirt, and that could show that there was something amiss. Besides, her clothes were so ripped and bloody that there would be no way to get them in a wearable state again. He tossed them into a pile on his bathroom floor and left his room once again.

Sasuke made his way over to the prison area of the hideout, no longer fearing the possibility of being seen. Once he got there, he entered the room in which they kept all of the devices for containing people. He quickly found what he was looking for and then left for the servant's quarters.

Most of the servants were asleep at this time, so he was able to walk around without too much commotion. He went to the large closet that held all of the women's clothes and searched through them until he found something that looked like it would fit Sakura.

Lastly, he went to the kitchens to grab some food. He hadn't eaten since the day before, and he knew that the girl would be hungry when she woke up.

Sasuke dropped the stuff off in his room and grabbed the clothes he had left. He made his way to the exit of the underground hideout and entered into the dark woods. He jumped to a branch and began looking for an appropriate spot to incinerate the clothes.

Seeing that a small clearing was up ahead, he decided that it was a good place and jumped down from the trees. He dug a small impression into the soil and laid the clothes in it before lighting them on fire.

Sasuke sat with the orange glow lighting up his face and thought about what he should do next. How long would he be able to pull off this stunt? While Sakura was unconscious Sasuke was in control, but once she woke up, she would become a wild card in the situation. Would she agree to stay put in his room and not cause a disturbance? _Huh, unlikely_. Sasuke thought.

But Sasuke had already thought about a way to control her, and that was why he had made that trip to the prison area. He had considered his options and decided that the simplest way would be to attach a chakra disabling bracelet onto her ankle. It would allow her enough energy to walk around and stay alert, but not enough to engage in an escape. Plus, he could also keep the key to his room with him at all times, ensuring her imprisonment.

The situation so far seemed to be on his side and under his control. But would it stay that way? What would she do when she found out where she was? And how long could he keep her a secret? She would surely want to go back to her village at the first opportunity.

Sasuke sighed, knowing that he would just have to take it all one step at a time. The cinders of the fire flared quickly before going out with one last stream of smoke.

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**Done with another one! The break between chapters this time wasn't too bad...**

**In case anyone was wondering about the ages of Sasuke and Sakura right now, they are around 18. Also, we are pretending for the sake of this story that Sasuke is still studying with Orochimaru in order to become stronger and kill his brother. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone! I'm back! I'm so sorry it has taken me forever to update. I had a lot going on with school and final exams, but now that is all done and I can get back to writing! It also didn't help that I had a bit of a mental block when it came to this chapter, but once I started writing again I was able to make it work. Plus, it's an entire 2,108 words! Much longer than the previous two chapters.**

**Some of you noticed the discrepancy between having Sasuke get Sakura heal herself and then having her in a chakra disabling bracelet. Yes, this didn't make sense and I'm sorry for not being more specific about it. The bracelet is more of a precaution if she doesn't cooperate with staying put, plus it would only be put on after she gains enough strength to heal herself. Does it make more sense now I hope? Anyway, on with the story!**

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Sasuke quietly reentered the hideout before any slight tinges of light began to illuminate the horizon. Swiftly making his way through the hallway's twists and turns he reached the door to his room. He stood outside it for a second to listen for any motion inside. If she had woken up, he didn't want to be stepping into a trap. Quietly he turned the doorknob and stuck his head inside. Seeing that nothing had changed since he left, he slid inside and shut the door behind him.

She was still lying on his bed, unconscious. As it had only been a few hours since he had found her and taken her back with him, it wasn't too surprising that she wasn't awake. Most likely it would be a couple more hours until she was able to become fully conscious again.

Sasuke went to his closet, pulled out an extra blanket, and spread it out on the floor by the wall to create a thin cushion. He went over to the bedside to pick the girl up and move her off the bed, but remembered her injuries and figured it would be best to leave her still and not cause any extra damage. In any other circumstance he would have taken the bed for himself and left her to sleep on the floor, especially considering how tired he was from the previous day's events. It wouldn't be very gentlemanly, but what did he care about that? He did, however, take one of the pillows.

He tossed the pillow into the corner with the blanket and took off his white shirt. Before he went to lie down, he checked to make sure the door was locked. No one ever dared to enter without knocking, but he wouldn't put it past some new servant to get lost and walk in. To make sure he didn't lose his room key, he took a long string and put it through the hole at the top of the key. Taking the two loose ends he tied them around a loop on the inside of his pocket. This way he could keep the key with him and out of sight.

Sasuke tuned off the light, went to the makeshift bed on the floor, and lay down on his side. As his eyes grew accustomed to the dark he could see the faint outline of the girl on his bed, chest rising and falling with each slow breath she took. He turned over to face the wall instead.

He didn't like how the perfectly ordered life he had created could be thrown off balance so easily. With that one decision to take her with him, he had already changed so much of his routine and altered how he would spend the coming… what? Days, weeks, months? How long would he be able to keep her there? If she didn't return to her village soon, they were bound to send scouts to look for her. _Why did I even bring her with me? I could have just as easily dropped her off at a nearby town where she could have gotten medical attention and gone back to her home as soon as she could. _

Sasuke mentally kicked himself for not thinking of that option earlier. He thought back to the moment he found her lying unconscious and bleeding on the ground, and tried to remember what was running through his mind that prevented him from assessing all options. All that came to mind of that instant, however, was a bundle of confusion. No, not panic. He never panicked, but imagining that scene again made his breath quicken and his heart pound stronger. Sasuke rolled over onto his stomach and pushed everything but sleep out of his mind.

* * *

His dark eyes opened sleepily and he rolled over onto his back wondering whether or not he should go back to sleep for a bit longer. For a moment he wondered why he was lying on the floor and not his bed. Suddenly remembering the events of the past day he sat up and looked over to his to where he knew the girl to be, even though it was too dark to see clearly. Since Orochimaru's hideout was underground, there wasn't very much natural light. There were a few places in the hideout that were partially lit by sunlight, thanks to some cleverly disguised windows in the forest above, but most areas would stay dark all day long without electric lights.

Sasuke sat for a minute and listened to the faint, but constant, breathing that was the only indication that she was there. He stood up and walked to the light switch by the door and flicked it on. She was just as he had left her last night, lying on her back with her arms by her sides. Glancing at his clock he saw it was almost nine thirty in the morning, a little later than he usually woke up, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Sasuke grabbed a clean pair of training clothes and went into his bathroom to change. Even though the only other occupant in the room was unconscious, he didn't feel comfortable changing out in the main room.

Once finished he walked to one of the bedside tables and took some of the food he had taken from the kitchen the night before, leaving an apple and banana for her when she woke up. However this made him think. What should he do today if she was probably going to wake up? He should stay in the room so that he could explain the situation in hopes that she wouldn't completely freak out, right? But that would mean acting out of the ordinary and possibly drawing the attention of Orochimaru and Kabuto, and would definitely result in questions about what was going on.

In order to keep this all hidden away from the other inhabitants of the hideout, Sasuke needed to act as if nothing had changed. That meant leaving the girl in the room for the day. It was a risk, but he was pretty sure her injuries would prevent her from leaving. Plus, he could just make sure to stop in a couple of times to check how it was going.

Satisfied with his decision for now, he left his room and locked the door behind him, heading off in the direction of the gym.

* * *

A dull ache pervaded the complete darkness that was her world. She didn't seem to have any use of her senses, other than the ones of pain. Nothing made sense to her, yet it didn't have to. She was just one consciousness in the vast ocean of darkness. How long had she been like that? How long had she even been aware of the pain that was now bringing her out of the quiet shadows? She had no memory except for what was happening at that moment. But now there was a nagging feeling that there was something else out there, something that would shed light on her circumstance. With a sudden wave of energy, she opened her eyes.

At first the brightness blinded her, and she had to blink a few times in order to adjust to her new surroundings. From what she could tell, she was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room. Where was she? Years of ninja training caused the blood in her veins to run cold and she went to sit up. A bolt of pain shot through her when she tried. Still in her horizontal position she tried to look around as much as she could.

From what she could see, she was in a bedroom. There were no windows, and the only light was coming from the overhead bulbs on the ceiling. She attempted to sit up again, this time taking is slowly. The pain was still there, but she fought through it and finally was upright and leaning against the pillows behind her. Now able to see the entire room, she could tell she wasn't anywhere familiar. This did nothing to ease her worries and she began to wonder how she had gotten there. With a rush, the past events came back to her.

She had been sent out on a mission to capture three rogue ninjas by the Hokage. Her memory was efficient right until the moments after her fight with the three men. Any memory of how she had come to be lying on a strange bed in a strange room was nonexistent. Somebody had obviously taken her from the clearing in the woods and, judging by the state of her wounds, had doctored her injuries as best as they could. _I must not be in too much immediate danger then, if they had had the chance to kill me and didn't._ She thought.

Slightly more comfortable with her situation, she examined the room more closely. In the bedroom there were a couple of bedside tables, a dresser, a loveseat, an attached room that looked like it would be a bathroom, and a curious pile of blankets and a pillow in a corner. There was also an apple and banana on one of the bedside tables. Seeing the food, Sakura became immediately aware that she was hungry.

She wondered how long she had been unconscious and laying in this strange room. She thought about whether or not she should eat the food, it could be poisoned for all she knew. But what would be the point of bandaging her wounds only to poison her later? And besides, how would anyone be able to poison a banana? Cautiously taking the food from the table she placed one piece of fruit in her lap and began to eat the other. After she had finished both, she wiped her mouth with her arm and wondered about what she should do next.

She had noticed that she was only wearing her netted undershirt and black shorts, and that her outer clothes weren't anywhere nearby. This had put Sakura off balance for a moment, but she trusted that it had only happened so that the mystery person could bandage some of the wounds. She leaned further back into the pillows and thought about what she could do now that she was awake.

She knew she should really start planning an escape or a way to contact the Hokage about her state of being while she could, but she was too weak to actually do anything of consequence. Deciding that there really was nothing to do at the moment to clarify why she was here or what to do to escape, she closed her eyes and tried to rest as much as she could.

* * *

A bead of sweat dripped off the end of Sasuke's nose as he stood bent over with both hands on his knees. He had been training harder than usual in an attempt to rid his mind of the previous day's events. Bringing the girl back to the hideout, what had he been thinking? It was terrible idea. He shook his head since he obviously wasn't concentrating hard enough on training if thoughts like this kept running through his mind, so he stood up and landed a few more kicks to the punching bag in front of him.

He looked at the clock and saw that he had been training for a few hours. _I should probably go back and check on the girl._ He thought. _There's a chance she could have woken up by now._ Grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat off his face, he began walking back toward his room. Soon he was back in front of his door, rummaging in his pocket for the key. Sasuke pulled the key out of his pocket and fit it into the slot, turning it slowly.

* * *

A slight scraping sound was coming from the outside of the door. Sakura's eyes flew open and she began looking around for a place to hide. However there was nowhere for her to go in the open room, and besides, her injuries wouldn't allow her to move anywhere quickly. She briefly thought about pretending to be asleep, but her captor would be able to tell she had woken up because she was no longer lying down and her breathing would be erratic. There was nothing else to do but face what was about to happen.

Sakura looked back at the door just as it swung open and a familiar man walked in. They stared at each other for a split second, and then he suddenly backed out of the room and swung the door shut, leaving her in astonishment.

* * *

**I'm sorry it's a cliffhanger! But I felt like that was an appropriate place to end for now. Ahhh so I've finally had Sakura wake up. I thought a lot about where Sasuke would be and what he would do when she woke up. His leaving the room after seeing her awake was a bit out of character, but whatever. I also considered having him leave a note for her, but I thought that would have been something he reeeally wouldn't have done. **

**Anyway, I hope you liked it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I tried not to keep you all waiting as long for this one! I hope it wasn't too bad haha. But yes, this is where they will have their first exchange of words! Crazy to think there could be an entire four chapters without them speaking to each other at all. I mean, I liked the whole "not talking" bit since I don't think my strength is in dialogue...so I hope it works out haha! 06-10-2010 (I'm gonna start to try to put the date on these as a way to help me track when I updated last)**

* * *

Sakura blinked once, then twice. What had just happened? Did she really just see a missing-nin from Konoha, the man that had been and continues to be the last piece of the puzzle that is Team Kakashi, the one who had run away years ago to serve under Orochimaru, the one she had once considered a friend? No. It wasn't possible. Why would _he_ of all people decide to pick her up from the woods and take her with him? Why would _he_ bother to care for her wounds? He simply doesn't care. He proved that years ago when he left his friends without a backwards glance.

She didn't want to see him at all, did she? No. It wouldn't serve to run into him without a plan or without Naruto. Seeing him again was supposed to be a joint effort and she wasn't supposed to have to face the onslaught of memories alone.

_I must be imagining things. My recent unconscious state and terribly low chakra levels must be inducing hallucinations. What else could explain this? _Sakura thought about her situation and tried to reason herself out of believing the man to be him. If someone had indeed just walked through that door and she wasn't imagining it, they must have just looked like the man she had known. Her confused mind must simply be trying to recognize a familiar face in an effort to figure out her confusing circumstances. It had been years since she had last seen him, why did she think she would be able to recognize a man she had not seen since they were both twelve? And besides, ducking out of the room in such a manner was something he would never do.

Yes. The best explanation to what had just happened was a hallucination. All else was just too hard to believe, too impossible to actually be true. Sakura sat on the bed and tried to convince herself of this, but she couldn't stop the sinking feeling in her stomach that told her it was all real.

* * *

Sasuke stood with his back against the door trying to plan what to do next. Had she recognized him? Probably, he had recognized her the moment he had found her in the woods. Why hadn't he approached the room with more caution before just walking straight in? This was not how he normally acted, and he hated it.

He took a few steps away from the door and continued to think. Leaving for a couple more hours wouldn't work since she might get too curious and try to follow, but simply walking back in like nothing happened also wasn't the best plan. Unfortunately never going back to his room wasn't feasible either.

What would he even say to her? Sasuke hadn't been able to justify his reasons to himself yet, let alone to another person. Maybe he could get away with being vague about his reasons, and let her invent a reason for her captivity. That could end up working in his favor if her imagination frightened her more than he could, she would be too scared to act out against him.

But how long would that last? Once she realized he wasn't doing anything about her she would get suspicious and start testing her power. Should he use the chakra bracelet on her right away, or was that too much? _Creating a plan of action should've been the first thing I did after bringing her here! How can I continue to get stronger if I can't even deal with this?_ But there was nothing else to do at this point except face it, no longing to change the past could fix the situation before him now. Sasuke turned to face the door and set his face into a stony expression of indifference before turning the doorknob once again.

This time he had expected her to be awake and was able to keep all surprise off his features. However Sakura did not have the luxury of knowing the moment he would step in and Sasuke was able to see as a rush of emotions ran over her face, from surprise to fear to worry and finally to a mask of indifference that mirrored his own. He could tell that she recognized him and was now assessing how it would all play out.

Both ninja stayed stock still waiting for the other to make a move, not daring to make eye contact for more than a second. Sasuke could see Sakura's eyes flitting from place to place, trying to quell her urge to look at him. It was very much like the intense few seconds before a battle while the opposing sides sized each other up. Sasuke let a small smirk raise the corner of his mouth; this was a battle he would win.

At the sight of his smirk Sakura's face hardened. Was he just going to keep her waiting like this? She could break the silence first she knew, but why? He was the one who owed an explanation, not her. She wouldn't give in and ask a question. That would be too much like saying that he had the upper hand. Only, he did have control. This was his territory and she had to play by his rules in order to find an escape. She continued to sit in silence.

Sasuke was pleased to see her face darken as his smirk continued to sit on his own, but he decided that he might as well break the quiet before she caught him off guard with an unexpected question. He let the smirk slowly slide off his face and replaced it with an expressionless façade. Another minute passed before he levelly said "You are in one of Orochimaru's hideouts. You were brought here by me after you were found unconscious in the woods."

The sound of his voice almost startled Sakura out of her thoughts. It had grown deeper since the last time she had heard him speak, but it still held the slight tinge of disapproval it had always had. Sakura thought about what he had just told her. He had said that he himself had brought her here; did that mean Orochimaru knew about it? She wanted to ask, but decided to wait for any other information from him.

"You're wounds are mostly fixed, but you will have to see to your fingers and rib." Sasuke stated.

"How long was I unconscious?" Sakura figured it was a simple enough question and didn't have any risk in asking.

"Since yesterday evening."

"Does Orochimaru know I'm here?"

She was greeted with silence as Sasuke continued his emotionless stare. Maybe it was too heavy a question for this early, so she tentatively asked "Um, where are the rest of my clothes?"

"Beyond repair. There are some different clothes in the bathroom you can try later."

Sakura thought it was odd he didn't fully answer that question, what would telling her about her clothes reveal? It couldn't be too much, but she decided to stop pushing questions for right now in case it lead her into troubled waters. She didn't want to start off on the wrong foot, it could determine her survival.

Sasuke waited to see if she had anything else to ask, but after another minute of silence he decided to go on. "I will be back later and I will bring food. The door to the hallway will be locked. Don't try to leave, you won't survive escape."

With that Sasuke turned and strode out of the room. The door clicked shut and Sakura could hear it being locked from the outside. Once she was sure he was gone, she collapsed back onto the pillows shaking from the effort of staying still and silent.

This had all gone so wrong! It was supposed to be a simple enough mission: kill or capture three rogue ninja and return to the village. She had completed the mission, but fallen prey to injuries and blacked out instead. If only she had had enough strength to heal herself at the end of the battle! She could have recuperated in the woods and immediately headed back for Konoha, avoiding this mess with Sasuke.

The Hokage would be sure to send scouts to look for her when she didn't return, but how long would that be? Tsunade could simply think it was taking longer to locate the rogue ninja and not realize the meaning of Sakura's absence for a long time. By then all clues would be gone from the clearing and there would be no trail to follow. And it wasn't likely that any searchers would stumble across Orochimaru's hideout and be able to successfully pull off a rescue. Sakura would be a hostage here for as long as her captor wished.

What would they do to her? Was she going to be used as a bargaining tool? The Hokage's student would fetch quite a price in negotiations between the Leaf and Orochimaru. Would she be forced to divulge secrets and jutsus? Orochimaru could be interested in her medical knowledge, or about security around the village. Was she to be a test subject? She knew Orochimaru liked to experiment, and had heard about the unfortunate fates of those caught in his traps.

But if she was going to be one of those, why was she in this room? A dungeon would be more of a likely holding place for her. Was it possible Orochimaru had no idea that she was even here? Sasuke never did answer that question; it could be that he is keeping her whereabouts hidden. But what would be his motives in that? An old teammate from genin days wouldn't serve much of a purpose. She didn't know very much about the location of Itachi, so what could he want with her?

Not knowing what her future might hold was killing her. She wished she could get up and walk around, but it still hurt too much to make many movements.

Her chakra level was rising and she could feel that the energy source in her was large enough to maybe heal some of her injuries. Sakura looked at her fingers in the rudimentary splints and wondered if it had been Sasuke that had bandaged her since he never had specified exactly who did. She held up her hand without the broken fingers and laid the glowing green warmth to the injuries. Within a minute she was able to pull the splints off and see that her hand was back to normal. She used a bit more of the chakra to help start the healing of her rib, but had to stop before it was fully fixed or else face losing all energy again.

No longer having anything on which to focus her attention, her mind wandered back to her captivity. She was no longer shaking as badly from the encounter, but thinking about what could be in store for her now that she was in the hands of the enemy caused her eyes to burn and fill with tears. There was nothing else to do except lie there and wait.

* * *

**So, there you are. I thought they conducted themselves quite well and professionally for both not seeing each other for years and years haha. I know it was kinda awkward and quick, but what else would really have happened? Neither really knows what to do anymore. But yes, I have already started the next chapter so I really hope the next update won't be too far away. I am fully graduated from high school now, so there won't be too many distractions to keep me from writing! And I just want to say thank you all so much for reviewing! And for also adding my story to your favorites and everything! It means a lot!**


	6. Chapter 6

**6-20-10. Done done done with another chapter! I was afraid this was going to be another shorter chapter. Not as short as chapter two, though haha. I didn't like giving such a wimpy excuse for an update, so I at least try to make the chapters longer than 1500 words. And I succeeded with this one! It's over 2300! Sorry I'm so obsessed with the word count, all my essays from the past two years always had to be a certain number of words, and now I can't shake the habit of caring. Try to look beyond that and just enjoy the story haha. **

* * *

A thin stream of flame shot out from between Sasuke's slightly parted lips, heating up the training room and sending dancing shadows across the walls. He had been working on a new technique that intensified the piercing quality of his fire. But at this moment he just couldn't get anything to work the way he wanted it to; his mind was too jumbled to focus solely on spitting the flame in the correct way. After a few more tries that failed to produce any sort of desired outcome, he gave up on practicing jutsus and went over to the weights.

Sasuke loaded the bench press with as much weight as he could handle and began to lift it up and down over and over again. Physical work seemed to be the best way to rid his mind of his predicament and get him into a steady state. His mind was almost blank while concentrating on the rhythm and movements of his arms. With a final lift he set the bar into place and moved out from underneath it, sitting for a moment on bench beneath him.

He got up and drank some water before starting to jog around the large training room. One thing he missed from the days before Orochimaru was the freedom to train outdoors. In some of the hideouts in more remote places he could leave and be outside for training, but in this particular place there were too many small villages that could possibly be alerted if he began blowing fire in the woods and using his chidori everywhere.

Not always training outside was only a small sacrifice for being under the tutelage of Orochimaru, but he could really do with breaking some trees right now.

* * *

Sakura accepted that there was nothing she could do at this moment. She hated it. In her current state she was too weak to even consider attacking Sasuke, let alone the fact that she had no idea how strong he was now. She could have taken twelve year old Sasuke out in a flash because she knew his fighting style and had more strength than he would have.

But this other Sasuke was a mystery. If he had progressed as much as Naruto had in the past years, than he certainly would be a formidable opponent. There was no way to know how much strength he possessed until a fight started, at which time it could be too late. She wondered if she really thought taking him out was her best option for escape.

Surely there would be noise from the fight and anyone else around would hear it. But was there anyone else here? Sakura had no idea how many people were staying in the hideout, or if Orochimaru was currently there. She could be locked in an unused hideout for all she knew. Until more could be learned about where she was and until her chakra was all back, nothing could be done.

Placing her hand to her ribcage, she began to pump chakra into her body to fix the break. She had been periodically healing herself whenever enough chakra returned, but at the rate it was going, she figured it would be tomorrow before she was relatively better.

Sighing, she stared up at the ceiling and tried to imagine what she would be doing right now if she were still in the leaf village. Most likely she would be filling out a mission report or running around doing chores for the Hokage, but any of those mundane tasks would be better than this.

She tried to stop the tears that were fighting be dropped.

* * *

Hours passed in which Sasuke continued to vary his physical training with running, weight lifting, and taijutsu, only stopping once for a quick lunch. By now it was getting late, but he didn't want to go back to his room and deal with the problems that would arise. Staying for a bit longer couldn't hurt, could it? With that rationale, he started up again and continued his physical barrage on the sandbag in front of him.

Time continued to go by, and now the clock was reaching eleven at night. Sasuke knew that it was later than he usually trained, and this break in his routine could possibly catch the attention of the "higher ups" and could bring unneeded suspicion on his part. But he still really did not want to go back to his room; he almost welcomed suspicion over returning to the girl and the questions that were sure to come.

Knowing that she would be alert and waiting for him filled him with an emotion that could be considered dread. With one last look at the training room, he headed out into the hallway and began walking in the direction of the kitchens. The long day of constant training had made him hungry, and besides, he had said he would bring food back later.

Upon reaching the kitchen, he found it devoid of people. The cooks had obviously finished for the night, and that was perfectly fine with Sasuke since he hated dealing with more people than he absolutely had to. Inside the refrigerator was some meat and fruit salad that had been leftover from the day, along with various other ingredients, and housed inside the cupboards were cereals, cookies, chips, some bags of dried rice, and many other non perishable foods.

He took the meat out of the fridge, grabbed a couple of cookies, and an orange. Wanting to stall for time before he went back to his room, he sat down on a stool in the kitchen and ate the dinner he had thrown together. While eating, he started to think about what food to bring back to the room.

He knew that the regular prisoners received things such as soup, oatmeal, bread, and some occasional fruits and vegetables. But could he really feed stuff like that to her? She would surely begin to demand something better. He didn't want to bring her too good of food because that would show she was more than just a normal prisoner, but she probably had guessed that already just by where he was keeping her.

Why did everything have to be so difficult? It was just food, yet that still continued to cause him issues. For the umpteenth time since last night, he wished he had just left her on her own.

When he was finished with his own meal, he took the fruit salad, a loaf of bread, an apple and a bag of chips. _There. This can cover dinner tonight and breakfast and lunch tomorrow too._ He thought, as he grabbed a fork and some napkins and started his way back to his room. The closer he got the slower he walked, until he stood right in front of the door. With one last sigh he fished out his key and unlocked the door.

Sasuke stepped in and saw her sitting on his bed, eyes hard and slightly red. Had she been crying? It didn't matter. She stared at him as he walked across the room and put the food on top of the bedside table nearest to her. For some strange reason he felt the need to state the fact he had taken the food for her, so he said "I brought food."

"I see that."

Sakura wasn't sure if she should take the food now or wait until he left again. It was so weird to be near him after all this time; it was like being with a completely different person. She had imagined meeting him again many times, but in no way like this.

Even though he seemed to be very much the same as when they had been a team, being apart for such a long time made them lose any sense of comfort they had had together. Before she would have been able to idly talk to him and get an occasional "hn" or "aa." They hadn't been close friends, but they hadn't been strangers either. This new situation was awkward and new, and they would have to build it up from the bottom again.

They sat in silence for a while longer, both lost in their own thoughts. Sakura thinking about how different everything was between them now and Sasuke about what was to be done next. Usually after a long day of training he would take a shower. He wasn't sure if he wanted to do that right now, but on the other hand it would give him a reason to escape the main room and the uncomfortable silence that was settling on everything like fresh snow.

Abruptly he stood up, grabbed a t-shirt and shorts and walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. Sakura let out a quick sigh of relief, and then began to wonder what Sasuke was doing. Shouldn't he be leaving now? Didn't he have his own room to go to? Her confusion increased as she heard the water begin to run for what she assumed was a shower.

She took advantage of his momentary absence and used the time to take some of the bread and fruit. Still perplexed with the situation, Sakura sat and ate, waiting for Sasuke to reappear.

A short time later Sasuke stepped out of the shower and began to dry off. After putting on his new set of clothes he ran his fingers through his damp hair, brushed his teeth, and walked back out into the room. He noticed that some of the food had been eaten, and that she was looking at him with a curious face. Not knowing what was making her look at him in such a way was unnerving and he glanced to make sure he was fully dressed and not somehow missing some article of clothing.

Having someone around was going to take a lot of getting used to. Plus it didn't help that sharing had never really been one of his strong points and now he had to share a great deal of his day to day life with an almost complete stranger. Any camaraderie between them had been lost years ago when he left to pursue new power, he had made sure of that. Sasuke walked back over to the chair he had previously occupied and asked "Have you healed yourself yet?"

"No, not fully. I don't quite have enough energy to complete it." Sakura replied. After a minute or two of silence she opened her mouth as if to say something, glanced at Sasuke, then shut it again. She wasn't quite sure she should ask him straight out at that moment about why he was still in the room and hadn't left yet. But then again, saying something was better than keeping quiet, right? So she went "Why are you still here? Don't you have your own room somewhere else?" Immediately regretting her accusatory tone.

Sasuke was almost caught off guard with that question. Of almost anything to ask, she goes for something he would have thought to be completely obvious. "This is my room."

Sakura was shocked. He was keeping her in his room? Wasn't that a bit strange? Now the pile of blankets and a pillow in the corner made more sense. Why hadn't she figured it out before? Then a whole new rush of possibilities rushed through her head. If she was in here Orochimaru truly might not know she was being held hostage in his hideout, unless she was being actually there for Sasuke's "personal reasons."

She tried to control her panic as her imagination began to run rampant. Could that be why she was there? Was that why he cared if she was fully healed at that moment? She had, for some reason, always assumed he was above keeping a slave. She didn't even consider it earlier on, but now it seemed like it could be a possibility.

The panic had reached her eyes and Sasuke began to wonder what exactly was going through her head. She really must not have figured out where exactly she was earlier. He had almost expected her to snoop through his drawers for clues, but he guessed that maybe she was still too weak to walk around the room much. Unsure about what to say next to know why she suddenly looked more uncomfortable than she had earlier, he simply asked "What?"

When she didn't respond with anything but a cautious glance he stood up and headed for the light switch. The moment the room went dark he could feel the tension that seemed to be radiating from the direction of the girl. Sasuke headed over to the corner where he knew his makeshift bed to be. Since she wasn't fully healed, he would be spending another night on the floor. It wasn't that he minded all that much, but with everything he was giving up and risking to keep her here, he thought he might as well get the bed.

Sakura listened to his footsteps on the floor and sat tensely on the bed, almost expecting the worst. When she heard him sit down on the floor and pull the blanket over him, she was able to relax slightly. She moved into a more comfortable position but kept alert for any movements he was making, accepting that her nerves weren't going to let her get as much sleep as she wanted.

Sasuke lay with his back facing his real bed and the person on it. Falling asleep was much different when the other occupant in the room was no longer unconscious. He was pretty sure she wouldn't attack him in his sleep, but just in case, he tried to sleep lightly and be ready for any surprises.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

**Ahhh I'm sorry if this was a little more boring than usual. I just felt like I really needed to establish what their days were going to be like and cover the adjustment to their new situation. And for anyone who needs a clarification on what Sakura meant when she said "Sasuke's 'personal reasons'," she was worried that he might possibly abuse her sexually. I just was reeeaaalllly vague about it haha. So if you didn't need my explanation, just ignore me. And if you did, well there you go. I thought it was funny though how Sasuke couldn't even comprehend why she was scared all of a sudden. He can be a little out of touch sometimes haha. **


	7. Chapter 7

**6-25-10. Woah! Only four days in-between updates, how's that? Haha this chapter is actually my longest yet, and I only stopped because I didn't want to get too into what's going to happen next. I need to save _some_ stuff for future chapters!**

* * *

The next couple of days passed slowly as both Sasuke and Sakura tried to adjust to the new order of things. Sasuke would leave early and come back late, while Sakura would sit, and wait, and pace. There was nothing for her to do, and that was the worst bit of it. Her mind was free to wander like a bird in the sky, but no matter what, it always settled on her imprisonment and any possibilities for escape.

The broken bones and gashes she had suffered were gone now and no trace was left on her skin due to her skill at healing. Her usual amount of chakra had not fully replenished, but she was getting close. She was left to wonder about whether or not she could risk a dash out of the room during one of the times Sasuke was gone. He had only stopped by during the afternoon one time to get some of his kunai he had forgotten that morning, so she could be pretty sure he wouldn't make any unscheduled appearances.

However there was no way for her to plan where other people would be. Sakura now knew that the underground hideout in which she was being kept was indeed being used. Footsteps could be heard intermittently walking down the hallway, the sound growing and then fading out of existence.

At first she thought she could come up with a schedule for when the hallways were busiest and plan around that, but unfortunately that didn't work since the times were sporadic at best. With luck she could maneuver through the hallways and find the exit without being seen, if she didn't make too many wrong turns that is. Being found out though was an entirely different situation.

If Orochimaru truly did not know that she was currently in his hideout, he would find out if she was spotted in the maze of hallways she assumed were separating her and freedom. Discovery by Orochimaru would most definitely mean more trouble than she was in right now, and less of a chance of escape.

To her situation, Sasuke represented both an obstacle and a source of protection.

She was deterred from leaving because she was his prisoner and the only way to escape was through him, but he was also a shield against Orochimaru. As long as she was his secret, she was relatively safe from the clutches of Orochimaru. Or at least she believed so. Sasuke hadn't shown her any hostility yet, but that didn't mean he was on her side. He was still an enemy of Konoha and she had to think of him as that.

She was sure she couldn't win in an outright battle of endurance against him, even after all of her chakra returned. Though if she could land a surprise hit on him, her brute force could delay him while she escaped through the door. But finding her way through the halls before he tracked her down would be impossible. Besides, she didn't even know in which direction to go once she emerged from the underground dungeon. Sasuke could have carried her a long way from where she had fallen. And anyway, did she want to fight him?

Seeing him now after so many years of fruitless searching was painful. He was all that she and Naruto had wanted for so long, and now that she was so close to that dream, she realized how useless all of it had been.

It was almost ironic how after she had let go of the burning desire to bring him home, he was the one that had found and saved _her_.

It wasn't supposed to be that way, but there was nothing she could do to change it. Sakura could tell now that Sasuke wasn't going to simply decide to go back to Konoha, and a fight wouldn't make it better either. If she and Naruto had succeeded in their quest back then, they would only have brought back a man who was more bitter and resentful than before. He would have surely broken free from what he believed to be a prison and left them all behind again. Another heartbreak like that and she wasn't sure that she or Naruto would be able to move on. No, whenever she went back to Konoha it would be alone.

That is, if she could ever get back. It was all a matter of time before she was discovered. Sasuke couldn't keep her here as a secret indefinitely, could he?

* * *

The expanse of the Leaf Village could be seen from the window out which Tsunade stared. The sun was slowly setting and the day was coming to a close, but her work hadn't yet changed pace. Another couple of folders had just been brought in by an assistant secretary and added to the towering pile that had been growing since morning. It wasn't like she didn't try to work on it every once in a while, but with impromptu meetings and various ninja requesting her time, the paperwork got pushed to the side.

And it didn't help that she had been worried all day. It would be five days tomorrow since Sakura had left to complete her mission, and still there was no word on her progress. She hadn't thought this mission would pose much of a problem for her young apprentice, but it was taking a long time to complete. In all honesty the Hokage had expected Sakura to be back in less than three days. Delays such as this in missions weren't unheard of, but they succeeded in adding more stress to her life.

It was possible that her student was having trouble finding the rogue ninja and had to expand her search further away from the village. But it was also possible that something had gone wrong and Sakura was now injured, or worse. Tsunade was confident in her student's ability to defend herself and take down the assigned targets, but this long delay was starting to drive her crazy.

Sakura could have sent along a message from a small town if she was experiencing trouble finding the men or completing the mission, so why had there been no communication on her part? It wasn't unusual to call for back up if the situation needed it, and the Hokage would have been happy to send someone out to assist. Why had she allowed to Sakura do this by herself? She had suggested sending along another ninja, but Sakura turned down the help.

With a loud and exaggerated sigh Tsunade turned back to her desk and reached for the topmost folder on the pile. She would give it until tomorrow at sunset. If Sakura didn't contact the village or get back by then, she would send out some scouts to look for her. She grabbed a nearby pen and settled in for a long evening of work.

* * *

Even though she hated to admit it, staying in Sasuke's room wasn't so bad. For a hostage, she had it pretty good. There was a toilet and a shower she could use whenever she wanted, plus a comfortable enough bed. She knew of a lot more prisons with less accommodating features, and was grateful for what she did have.

The clothes Sasuke brought her to replace the ones that were now missing fit surprisingly well. Knowing that Sasuke could size her that easily was a little off-putting though. But, there was a selection of what she could wear since he had brought back a small closet full, complete with changes of underwear. She even had her own drawer at the bottom of his dresser.

Sakura had of course looked through his stuff in an attempt to find out what items she had at her disposal if it did come down to a fight, and because she was a little curious to see what Sasuke kept around. She was disappointed when she found out he kept a lot of normal people things like changes of shirts and pants along with normal ninja things like kunai and exploding tags. The latter could come in useful, but Sasuke obviously didn't consider her having them a danger since he left them so easily accessible.

But nevertheless she had uncovered an unused and empty drawer and filled it with her things; the clothes he had brought her and whatever was left in her travel pouch. She had been delighted to see that she still had her pouch since it held some soaps, lotion, and other toiletries she normally needed during missions. However, all weaponry she usually stored in there was gone.

Sakura assumed Sasuke had gone through it and taken out anything she could use against him. There must be a hiding place or secret compartment somewhere in the room since she had searched the place thoroughly and couldn't find any of the stuff he had taken. That or he had a locker somewhere else in the hideout.

Sasuke was also not that bad of a captor. He consistently brought her food, and even gave her the breakfasts that were delivered to the door by what she assumed were servants. They had become more comfortable with each other and were now able to sit in the same room without it feeling overly awkward. They were even able to engage in short bits of conversation as long as Sakura didn't start asking too many nosy questions about the hideout and his motives behind keeping her.

In an attempt to keep the talking going she had asked him about the breakfasts and how come there were servants. He had explained, using as little words as possible, that the hideout was very large and there were servants that were there to tend to it at all times, and that that there was a cook that would make meals to be delivered to the door if the people in charge wished it so.

At eight in the morning a servant would knock on the door and say that the food was ready and then leave the tray there. A few minutes later Sasuke would open the door and bring it in while Sakura stayed hidden and out of sight in the bathroom in case anyone walked by and happened to glance in and see her. Soon after he would leave to train.

She thought the whole breakfast thing was kind of him to do, but she didn't understand his motives behind it. Little did she know that he decided on it because having a pre-made meal show up at the door was far easier than trying to figure out what to bring her to eat all the time. This way she had at least one normal meal and he could just bring her snacks to eat during all other times. He didn't worry too much about Orochimaru or Kabuto caring whether he ate in his room or not since it wasn't unusual for him.

Sakura had even been able to get him to bring her a book by talking about how bored she was and how much she wished she at least had something to read. That night he had shown back up at the room with a couple of volumes on medical ninjutsu. He had said that there wasn't much of a selection since there weren't that many people around that read a lot. She appreciated the thought and read them during the times he was training.

Really though, she had it alright. Yes she would rather be back home talking with friends, going on missions, and even working, but she had to make the best out of whatever situation she was in. And it was surprisingly easy for her to once again become accustomed to being around him.

* * *

Sasuke exited one of the training facilities and made his usual way back to his room, stopping by the kitchens quickly to grab a few things to eat. Now that he had gotten used to her presence, going back to his room for the night wasn't as dreaded as it had been at first. She wouldn't have been his first choice of a roommate, but they were getting along fine, or at least as well as they could in their situation.

What surprised him the most was that she never talked about how he should return to the Leaf Village. He had expected to hear her plead with him to come back because they could offer him the chance to gain strength there and that she and his old team could assist him in his dream of revenge. But so far there hadn't been a word about Konoha or any of the people he had once considered "friends."

Maybe it wasn't their priority anymore after so many failed attempts at recovering him. He was a little curious about how high of a rank he had in their missing-nin records, but he wouldn't ask. It would only open up that topic for discussion and that was somewhere he had no urge to go.

Any talk they did have was casual and polite. Usually he would just listen to her talk about what she had done that day, which was read, nap, and be bored. She did talk about the training and learning she had done after he left the village, but she didn't make it sound accusatory or angry. It was simple and to the point with no subtle hints at how mean he was for what he did or how much everyone seemed to need him.

He even sometimes asked her a question, one being why she was unconscious in the woods when he found her. She explained her mission and then went on to talk more about some of the other missions she had been on recently.

Through these times together he saw how much she had changed from the young girl he had left behind so many years before. Then she had been clingy and could only stand up for herself when pushed to the limit, now he could tell that she wouldn't be quite as easy to take down in a fight. With relief, he had also noticed she had taken the annoyingly affectionate suffix off his name whenever she spoke it. She had grown out of her silly infatuation and he was glad.

One of the biggest changes living with her was always having another person nearby. Even though he still didn't talk as much as she did, he had spoken more in the past few days than he had before in the past few weeks. It was weird to go back to his room and have someone there who could both talk and listen to him. Living in Orochimaru's hideouts didn't give him too many opportunities for social occasions, so this new interaction was almost pleasant to have. He had been living for so long without much human interaction and now he could tell that, as much as he didn't want to admit it, he had kind of missed it.

He had also surprised himself by continuing so sleep on the floor even though she was fully healed. He couldn't see himself kicking her out of the bed she seemed to have basically make hers, although he did take another pillow. Sure he was slightly sore and stiff when he woke in the morning, but it was a small price to pay for what he assumed would turn into a tantrum if he tried to take the bed from her now.

As he neared his door he took out the key and unlocked it, quickly shutting it behind him. He was greeted with a brief smile from the girl reading in the chair before she closed the book and moved back onto the bed. Opening his closet door he began to put away some of his training equipment as she asked him how his day had gone. He answered her and then gathered his change of clothes and headed over to the bathroom for his evening shower.

No sooner had he reached the bathroom when a knock on the main door made both occupants in the room freeze where they were. Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a glance and then she silently got up from the bed and walked around him into the bathroom to hide. Sasuke stood perplexed, who would be at his door at this time? Deciding not to open the door, he walked out into the main room and simply called out "Yes?"

"Sir? Orochimaru-sama has requested that you visit him." The messenger outside his door said.

"Tell him I'll be there shortly."

"Hai."

The messenger left and they listened to the footsteps fade down the hall. Sakura poked her head out from around the bathroom door frame and asked "What was that about?" Even though she had heard as well as Sasuke had.

"I've been summoned to go see him. It's normally just about training with him or missions." He replied, even though he didn't know what to expect this time around. Had he been found out?

Sakura looked at him, the nervousness easily seen on her face. "And you're going right now?"

"Yes, it shouldn't take too long."

And with that Sasuke left for his meeting, trying to prepare for whatever was going to happen when he walked into the snake's lair.

* * *

**Done for now! Ooooo, does Orochimaru know about Sakura, or is this just a normal summons for Sasuke? You'll find out soon, don't worry too much. I think they are adjusting well to their new lives haha, I'm glad Sasuke isn't too annoyed with his new roommate. It's good for him to learn some social skills. **


	8. Chapter 8

**7-9-2010. Hello hello hello! It's been a couple weeks since I updated, but never fear! I'm back! And I promise I will never leave and abandon the story, that is unless I die in a freak accident anytime soon, which I reallllly hope doesn't happen (knock on wood!). But anyway, I was thinking about how I want the story to play out and I came up with two different outcomes, which sucks because now I don't know which will be better; the one I had always considered, or the one that suddenly popped into my head and is causing me this confusion. I think the former would be less typical but possibly a bit dull, and the latter would be more predictable but possibly more exciting. I don't know. I think I can blend them and make a third option! Yes, that could work very well! It would have both the excitement and the (maybe?) surprise! Hahaha okay, enough of me blathering about nothing since I won't tell you what the ending will be. Onto the new chapter!**

* * *

With his face set in a stony expression, Sasuke walked over to face Orochimaru. He stayed still and silent until he was spoken to, not because he had any respect for the man or his position, but because there was nothing for him to say. On the inside, Sasuke was agitated and anxious to hear the reason behind this summons but wouldn't dare let it show through. Any emotion could betray more than he intended and provide weaknesses the snake could feed off of.

The silence continued for another minute until Orochimaru looked up from his work and said "So you got the message to come see me, good, good. I have another little mission for you this time, it shouldn't take too long if you're dedicated to it. I need you to abduct the ten year old son of the leader of the small village over to the east." Handing Sasuke a map he said "Try not to kill anybody; we don't want to anger them more than necessary. But you know, accidents do occur and sometimes a sword can suddenly slip… do you understand?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Alright then, you are to leave tomorrow at sunrise. Gooood luck." Orochimaru said with a wry smile.

Until he was far away from the snake, his face was kept devoid of emotion. He opened the scroll and saw the map of the nearby region to the east and the path he should take to arrive at the village. Judging by the distance, the mission seemed like it would take a couple of days at the most. Maybe one and a half days both ways to travel, and then a short time to survey and strike. Still though, it was longer than he wanted to leave Sakura alone and vulnerable. Or was she?

True, there wouldn't be anybody around to look after her, but vulnerable she wasn't. He could sense the strength that hid under her thin frame and he knew that underestimating her would be a bad move. And what made him think she was just going to sit nicely and wait for him to return? There was no way she hadn't considered escape, and leaving her without supervision for three days wasn't a good plan for her confinement. But what should he do?

It would be nearly impossible to take her with him, they could run into someone that reports to Orochimaru and then he would learn about the intruder. She also would probably object to the mission he was assigned and try to stop him. And what's more, once they were out traveling in the forest there would be a multitude of opportunities for her to slip off and run back to Konoha. No, she would have to stay in the hideout. He didn't want to look after her _and_ a ten year old the entire time.

This actually could be a good time to use the chakra disabling bracelet he took as a precaution when he first brought her back. It would keep her from thinking about trying to escape during his absence and she would be able to stay safely in his room until he was back.

The down side to that, however, was that she would have no way to defend herself if anybody came to visit. In that situation she would need her chakra to attack, but trying to take anyone out could get her seriously injured, especially if the opponent was Orochimaru. This whole mission could just be an attempt to lead Sasuke away from her so that Orochimaru could grab her, but why would he go through all that just to get one girl? If he knew about her, why hadn't he just slithered down to the room and taken her during the day?

If indeed he was planning on kidnapping her from Sasuke's room, it might actually be better for her to have the disabling bracelet on, so that she wouldn't be tempted to fight back and end up getting herself killed. And, in that case, it would look as if Sasuke had at least tried to keep her as a normal prisoner. She being found without some sort of restraining device would show that Sasuke had not treated her as an enemy, but as a friend.

Yes, the best option was the bracelet even though he knew she would absolutely hate the idea of it. But it was the easiest way to keep her safe.

o-o

The moment Sasuke had reentered his room and shut the door behind him Sakura asked "What did he want?"

Sasuke let out a small sigh, closed his eyes for a second, and then said "I'm being sent on a mission. It should only take a few days, probably three."

"A few _days_? But what am I going to do?"

"I'll bring you some food, enough to last for a while. I can also get some more books to keep you busy."

She was silent for a moment and then said "Are you sure _he_ doesn't know about me? This could just be a way to get you to leave me on my own."

Hearing his earlier thoughts voiced by her made him wonder again about what Orochimaru really knew. Sasuke had covered all of his tracks, right? He never let his guard down, so in theory he should be the only one who knew about her. "I think if he knew he would have already paid us a visit. I don't believe you need to worry about anyone trying to get into my room while I'm away."

"Alright, I guess. When do you leave?"

"Sunrise." He replied. "I'll go now to get the supplies. I will also cancel the morning breakfasts. Food can't be delivered to a person who technically isn't there."

Sakura nodded and then watched him leave the room once again. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. While she wasn't thrilled with the new twist in events, she realized that this could be the chance she had been waiting for. There would be days in which he wouldn't be checking in on her, it could be the time for escape. Breaking free had begun to seem impossible, but now could be the time to plan an attempt.

Sasuke would be leaving in the morning, she could wait until nightfall when he was sure to be far away from the hideout and then she could break down the door and run. Sure it was risky with all the guards and servants that could be walking around, but when would another chance like this happen? Sasuke hadn't said anything or even dropped any hints about the near future with regard to her and she had no idea if she was going to be let free or imprisoned forever. She could always wait until he was sent on another mission and stay here for a few more days, but the longer she stayed here the more likely it would be that she was discovered.

It was now time to take this into her own hands. Sakura would just have to act like she was worried about his departure and keep him from catching onto what her true plans were. It should be easy enough to do. Besides, she was doing Sasuke a favor by leaving. He wouldn't have to look after her anymore or face getting into trouble if Orochimaru found out.

There was also no reason for him to track her down once he came back from his mission, so she should have enough time to find her way back to Konoha. Her strength was back and she could take the food he was bringing her, making it back home would work!

She sat back on the chair and waited for Sasuke's return while mentally working out her plan of action for the next day.

o-o

Sasuke came back to the room and dumped the books, food, and various kinds of weaponry for his mission onto the bed. Sakura stood and helped him sort through it, taking the books and food to the corner of the room that served as a make shift kitchen. As Sasuke began packing a bag for the trip Sakura asked "What if you're gone longer than you think?"

"I won't be. Three days is my guess, four if I get slowed down. The distance is the hardest part."

"But what if, uh, what if something goes _really_ wrong?" She said, not wanting to voice what she actually meant.

Sasuke looked at her; did she really just suggest that he might die? She obviously had no clue who he was. True she didn't know what the mission was and how non-difficult it would be, but how could she doubt his abilities? Instead of answering with words he just gave her a look that clearly expressed how dumb he thought she was being with that question.

"Oh alright, fine." She said with a laugh. "I was just considering worst case scenarios, you don't have to give me that look!"

There was a pause before he gave the honest answer to her question. "If something like that did happen, my room would be searched and cleared out."

Any lighthearted feel in the room evaporated as she lifted her head up to look at him, understanding the seriousness of what he had just said. "Then, in that case, what should I do?"

"That won't happen. This mission isn't dangerous."

"I know but I just want to have a plan for-"

"That _won't _happen." He repeated, cutting her off.

They stood there in silence. Sakura wasn't sure what to make of this new development. Was he just defending his pride, or was he actually a bit worried about her? _Tch, pride no doubt. I did kinda suggest that he would be easy to kill. _She thought as she went back over to the chair to sit.

Sasuke turned his back on her and went to collect a few more things from his closet. He was acting oddly and it was doing nothing for his pre-mission nerves. Why had he been that quick to interrupt her and set her straight? This mission shouldn't be difficult, so why was he now considering everything that could go wrong?

What got him was that he hadn't even considered what would happen if he was taken down. He was supposed to be the person who thought of every possible option, but he never even entertained the idea of his death. It was extremely unlikely, yes, but now that another life depended on his success he would need to be more careful.

With the packing finished, he went into the bathroom for a shower. Sakura was glad for this momentary break from him; it had begun to feel awkward between them again. She sat with a book in the bed, knowing that soon they would both be asleep in this room for what, if her plans went correctly, would be the last night.

Once finished, Sasuke left the bathroom and set the alarm for the next morning. He put his bag near the door and leaned his sword against the wall. He doubted that he would forget it, but with how weird he had been acting lately he didn't want to take any chances. Glancing toward the bed he saw that Sakura was lying on her side facing the opposite direction.

He turned off the light and went over to his bed on the floor. After a few minutes he heard her shift under the covers and then say quietly "Hey, I'm sorry if I offended you or something by saying what I did. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Hn, I know. Don't worry about it."

And with that, they both drifted off.

* * *

The sound of the alarm made them both start up quickly. Sakura, who was closest, leaned over and shut it off, wanting to go back to sleep. She didn't have to go on the mission, so why should she get up this early? Lying back into the pillows she listened to Sasuke who had already stood up and began to get ready. He moved about swiftly, and was soon almost ready to leave.

All that was left was the chakra disabling bracelet that Sasuke had decided on using. He knew that he still had to put it on her, but didn't know how he should do it. Should he talk to her first and explain, or should he just pin her down and slide it on her ankle before she could retaliate? Maybe breaking it to her gently would work out better since it would surely cause him less grief when he returned from the mission and had to face her, but there was no way she would agree to it.

Sasuke walked to his closet and found the spot where he had hidden the bracelet. He closed the circle and set the four digit code, locking it with a series of specific chakra bursts. Even if she somehow figured out the four numbers it would take to unlock it, she would need to know the pattern and amount of chakra to use. Needless to say, it was highly unlikely she would be able to break out of it. Opening the bracelet again, it was all set to be applied.

He turned around and saw that her eyes were closed and she was still lying on the bed, not sleeping, but simply waiting until it was time for him to leave. It would be so easy to hold her down in that position. Saying anything that she didn't want to hear would make her sit up and move out of his reach, so should he start talking or just surprise her? He decided on the latter. Gambling with this perfect opportunity wouldn't be a good choice.

Sasuke moved in a flash and suddenly had her right ankle in his hand. Before Sakura could even say "What the hell?" the bracelet was on and locked again. Sasuke darted out of her reach and stood in a defensive stance in case she tried to attack him, but she was too confused to do anything at first. Studying the contraption on her leg, she suddenly understood what it was, and she was not pleased. Sakura stood glaring at Sasuke, her flaming eyes demanding a reason for what he had just done.

"It was a necessary precaution." He explained "You won't be able to get into any trouble that way. It will keep you safe."

And before she could take a step toward him to land a punch on his face, he had dashed out the door and locked it behind him.

Sakura was furious! She wanted to scream in anger, break something (preferably him), or at least cause a scene. But any of those options might cause someone to start poking around his room and lead to her discovery. Her plans had been ruined. There was no way she would be able to escape. Breaking the door would need chakra, fleeing the hideout would need chakra, and the trek back to the village would need chakra.

Anything she would need to do in order to leave her prison required more chakra than she would be able to summon. She had seen these disabling bracelets before and knew that she didn't have a chance. Unlocking it without knowing the code and chakra sequence took a large amount of luck, skill, and time. If by some stroke of genius she was able to break free, it could be days from now.

She studied the seam where the circle opened and wondered if maybe, just maybe, she had enough strength to break it without needing to lace her muscles with chakra. Taking the bracelet between her fingers she pressed as hard as she could, willing the material to crunch or split or something. Nothing happened. She tried to slide it off her ankle, but it caught on her heel and wouldn't go any further.

Sighing, she figured it was useless and threw herself onto the bed, tears welling in her eyes out of frustration. She had let herself trust him enough to think that he wouldn't attempt something like this, that he was somewhat of a friend, forgetting that he was her captor. He hadn't shown her any hostility or ill will since they had been on speaking terms, and she had gone back to thinking that maybe he wasn't too bad a guy. Apparently she had been wrong.

But what had he said before he ran from the room instead of facing her like a man? Wasn't it 'It will keep you safe'? What was that supposed to mean? Was he actually worried about her getting into trouble? He didn't make any sense. "Stupid bastard. Where does he get off thinking he can do this to me?" She asked herself while repeatedly punching a pillow. _He really hid this bracelet well. I searched the entire room and never found it. Or did he bring it back last night? _

So much about him and his actions was a mystery, and she was sure she would never figure them all out.

* * *

Once again the Hokage looked out at the village and the sun that was setting in the sky. She had given her student another entire day to get back, but still she had not returned. Worried about the outcome of her apprentice, Tsunade tapped on her desk with a pen while waiting for the ninja she had sent for to arrive.

Sakura had been strong enough to take those men down, so she had been justified in her decision to let Sakura set out on her own, right? _I should never have let her turn down that offer for assistance. I'm sure we wouldn't be in this situation if I had insisted she take along back up. _A knock on the door made her snap out of her thoughts and say "Come in."

Two men walked in and one said "We're the trackers you send for ma'am. What can we do?"

She took a breath and then explained "It has been five days today that I sent Sakura Haruno out on a mission to capture or kill three rogue ninja around the border northwest of here. I expected her back in three days or less, but I have not heard from her at all and I fear something bad may have happened. I need you two to search the area where I sent her and report back to me if you find anything. Follow any trails you think might lead you to her or any clues. Got it?"

"Hai Tsunade-sama." They replied before turning to leave.

Once they were gone, Tsunade turned back to the window to look out across the village and the people she cared about. She hated when missions put them in danger, but what could she do? It was her job to send people into dangerous situations and the jobs of the ninja to follow her orders, but she still felt guilty whenever someone ended up hurt or dead, no matter the cause.

Hoping that the trackers would find something good to report, she watched the village until the sun was completely obscured behind the horizon.

* * *

**Uh oh, Sakura is pretty mad about all her plans being put to a halt so quickly! I had no idea how to deal with that whole disabling bracelet situation; the application of or the mechanics. I just kinda guessed about how it would work, so I hope it makes sense. I'm also pretty sure that was the first time he's touched her since bringing her back and bandaging her wounds? I don't know, but it's such a small and trifling detail it doesn't really matter anyway haha. I apologize for not being consistent with my use of the full page-break-line-things or my little "o-o" breaks. I wanted there to be a definite break between what was happening, but thought the full lines were a little much.**


	9. Chapter 9

**7-24-2010. Heya! Sorry it's been like two weeks, I wasn't feeling this chapter as much as some of the others so it was harder to write. Hopefully it will be fine? **

* * *

The rain soaked ground gave the air of the forest a damp earthen scent as Sasuke sat motionless on the branch of a large tree close to the village. From this spot he could see the leader's house and most of the side streets that led to it, which would be useful to keep an eye on if he wanted to complete his mission without being noticed.

He had been sitting in the same tree for almost an hour now, and there had been no sign of the target. Before he could act he would at least need to see the boy and confirm that he was present, or else a break into the house would be fruitless.

Traveling to this village hadn't been difficult, but the heavy sheets of rain had hindered his progress and vision at times and had left him in an unpleasant mood. At least now the rain had stopped and he could be somewhat comfortable in the tree, even though his clothes were still wet and his hair was occasionally dripping. The journey had taken a full day and almost half of another, all while Sasuke was becoming more agitated.

This was due to the fact that he could not keep his mind from wandering back to the girl who was, hopefully, still hidden away in his room. He kept wondering whether or not she had been found or had done something stupid like try to escape. Knowing that the disabling bracelet was on her assured him that she wouldn't be able to do much to get herself killed, for that was what he figured might happen if anyone got suspicious and went to poke around his room.

The preoccupation of his thoughts and the heavy rain had at one point almost caused him to jump headlong into the trunk of a large tree. After that he had tried harder to keep his mind alert and aware of his surroundings. That time it was only a tree, but next time it could be an enemy threat. He couldn't afford to let his mind wander at any point during a mission, or else he might face an increased chance of danger.

Now he sat and waited, scoping out any potential threats that came around the house and preparing a plan of attack. It was then that he noticed a gathering of people a few streets down and he jumped to another tree in order to investigate. The village people were standing together around a group of small-time ninja that were about to head out on what Sasuke assumed was a long trip, for they had many packs with them.

He smirked from his hiding place in the tree, if only they knew that he was nearby and what he was going to do, then they wouldn't be sending away most of their defense. The ninja said their goodbyes and then began their trip, quickly disappearing into the dense trees that surrounded the village walls. Sasuke was glad to see they travelled in a direction away from where he was now; it would mean less of a chance of running into them during the escape.

Resuming his previous position in the tree near the leader's house, he continued his watch. Soon he saw a small figure walking down the main road in the direction of the house. Was this the child he had been waiting for? As the figure approached Sasuke could see that it was indeed a young boy, and that he was coming home from school because he had a backpack and a lunchbox with him. The age of the child was harder to guess since Sasuke wasn't usually around ten year olds and therefore had nothing to compare the kid to. It also didn't help that the boy was small and thin for what Sasuke had thought a ten year old should look like, but maybe that was just because his perception was off.

The child continued his walk down the road and entered into the leader's house. So that was most likely the child of the leader, but was he the right one? Orochimaru hadn't said if there were siblings, and he didn't want to take the wrong one back. So Sasuke waited to see if any other children would show up.

Minutes later a young girl turned a corner and also headed for the house. She was much younger and Sasuke could only guess that she must be around five or six years of age. When no other kids arrived, he decided that the boy he had seen was indeed his target and he began to plan his next moves.

An hour passed and Sasuke still sat in the tree, this time watching the boy clumsily throw shuriken and kunai at a target on a small tree in his backyard. Throw after throw the kid kept at his work, completely missing more often than making a hit. There had been no more movements around the house and to his knowledge he was free to make his attack. Standing up he readied himself to leap over the backyard fence, grab the boy, and head off before anyone saw him.

The instant before he leapt, however, the young girl he had seen earlier burst through the back door and came out to watch her brother. Sasuke lost his balance after abruptly trying to stop his motion and almost fell out of the tree, grabbing onto a branch to save himself at the last moment. This flicker of movement caught the eye of the boy whose head had now snapped up and was gazing into the shadows for the source of the disturbance. Sasuke hid behind the large trunk and waited, listening.

"Did you see something nii-chan? Why are you looking at the trees?" This was the voice of the little girl who had come outside to watch her brother and ruined Sasuke's first attempt at the kidnapping.

"Oh, no. Nothing's there. I just thought…but never mind." The boy replied.

Sasuke smirked, wrong answer. If this kid wanted to be a ninja he would need to learn not to assume a suspicious movement in the trees was nothing, it could get him into trouble. Sasuke looked out from behind the trunk and saw that the boy was no longer staring into the forest.

Accepting her brother's vague answer without much thought she then asked "Can I throw one of those?"

This had obviously been an ongoing issue between the two of them because the boy sighed and said "I've told you, no. Mom and Dad said you aren't allowed until you're older. Besides, they're really sharp and I don't want you to get hurt."

The girl pouted. Her brother laughed and went to hug her saying "Once you're allowed I promise I'll show you, okay?"

After considering this offer for a minute she said "Okay fine. Oh, and Mom has cookies she made for us."

"I'm going to stay out here for a bit longer, I want to practice some more." With this, the young girl went back inside and the boy was alone like before.

Sasuke should have taken advantage of the situation and made his move before any more surprises could happen, but he had been painfully reminded of his own childhood watching that scene. How many times had he begged his brother to teach him to throw kunai and other tricks? He could sympathize with the girl since he knew exactly how it felt to be turned down like that. No, correction; he _had_ known how it felt. He no longer was that little boy who idolized his elder brother, for he now knew what that brother had done and couldn't forgive him for it. He was a powerful ninja and would have his revenge, but that was a topic for a later time, for he still had to carry out his current assignment.

He looked down to where the boy was standing to make sure he was still alone and there weren't any more surprise visitors. In a flash Sasuke moved from the tree and landed on the opposite side of the fence. The boy spun around, saw Sasuke, and tried to throw a kunai at the stranger. His reflexes were sharp, but his aim was lacking. Sasuke didn't even bother trying to dodge the kunai. Sure enough the kunai sailed past him by at least a foot and Sasuke was soon right next to the boy, sword drawn.

A terrified scream split the air and Sasuke whipped his head around to see where it had come from, for the boy in front of him had not made a sound. From this point in the yard he could see a window that looked into the house, the boy's mother was right behind it and had seen the events unfolding in the yard. Before anyone could attempt to stop him Sasuke hit the child with the hilt of his katana, knocking him out. He threw the kid over his shoulder and jumped off into the trees not caring that he left a trail of broken branches behind him.

After leaving the obvious trail in a direction contrary to where he intended to go, he turned and headed off in the correct way, making sure not to leave any evidence. Any village ninja following him would track the wrong path and be led to a dead end; it would hopefully buy Sasuke some time to lose them even more.

It was late afternoon and there would be plenty of light by which to travel for hours. Sasuke stopped for just a moment, long enough to tie the boy's hands and feet. He considered wrapping something around the kid's mouth to muffle noises, but as he was unconscious right now it wasn't necessary. Slinging the child over his back once more, Sasuke set off.

* * *

Frowning, Tsunade re-read the report that had been sent from the two ninja she had sent out to find Sakura. They had gone in the direction Sakura had and found the area of the woods where it was obvious a fight had taken place. There were three bodies, each identified as one of the rogue ninja, but no trace of the girl they were searching for. Broken trees littered the ground and there were many craters from chakra enhanced punches, so they knew she had been there. It was always easy to tell where she or Tsunade had fought, since both seemed to leave the site in wreckage.

The pair had then combed the ground for any clues that could enlighten them on the next step, and a dried pool of blood caught their attention. It was too far away from any of the bodies to be theirs, and it was too great in amount to have come from someone standing there for a moment to rest. The impression on the ground beside it lead them to believe that it had come from a body that had been lying on the ground, a body that was most likely Sakura's.

Next to this impression they found a footprint that didn't match any of the men's shoes, which meant that a fifth person had been around the site. A faint trail of blood led from the large red stain on the ground and into the trees. The two trackers began trying to follow the drips that had fallen, and that was when it began to rain. With the torrent from the sky, it became too impossible to follow the blood trail and the men were forced to take shelter until they could resume their search. But by the time the rain stopped, the faint traces they had been following were gone.

This was as much as Tsunade knew, for the two ninja had sent this letter before they went to try to find Sakura by asking the small villages and towns in the area, hoping to find her there or at least get a lead on her whereabouts. The discovery of the mystery footprint worried the Hokage. There was a wild card in the situation, and it could determine the outcome of the search. It could belong to an enemy who was now holding Sakura hostage or trying to pry information about Konoha out of her.

But it could also be something less dangerous, like a concerned townsperson who had run across the injured girl in the woods and taken her to a nearby medical center. _Okay Tsunade, don't jump to the worst scenario. _She thought to herself._ What are the chances that an enemy would bump into her around the border? There isn't any information we have that says there are hostiles in that area. Calm down. Sakura is strong and she can take care of herself. _

The Hokage exhaled and folded the report; it wouldn't do to dwell on it right now before her next meeting. Gathering the materials she would need for the meeting, she stood up and was about to walk toward the door when it sprang open and Naruto strutted in, hands in his pockets and said "Tsunade baa-chan! I need to talk to you about something."

"Now? I don't have time for you Naruto, go away."

"But it's reeeally important!"

"Yeah? That's what you said last time before you talked for an hour about a dream you had in which everyone was purple."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that! This time it _is_ important though, I swear! It will only take a second…" He pouted

Against her better judgment, Tsunade acquiesced. "Fine, but if you start talking too long, I'm leaving. What's it about this time?"

"It's about Sakura-chan."

Tsunade froze when he said this. How had he found out that she was missing? It was supposed to be a secret that only a few people knew about. She was keeping it hushed up because she didn't want panic to set in before the results from the trackers were fully formed.

Naruto, who had not noticed the drastic change in Tsunade's expression, kept on talking. "You should really give her some more time off, I haven't seen her since last week! And you know how stressed she can get when all she does is work. I even stopped by the hospital on my way over here to see if I could catch her on break, but she wasn't around. It's just getting so…"

Tsunade stopped listening as Naruto continued to ramble on. Relief had washed over her just as fast as her panic had come. He didn't know the truth about why Sakura wasn't around, or about the mystery surrounding her whereabouts now. Now she felt stupid for her minute of fright, if Naruto had known, there would be no way he would simply stride into her office so calmly. He would have come bursting through the door like a mad man demanding to know why he hadn't been sent out to look for her, and then setting off on the trail before Tsunade could stop him. No, luckily for now all this was under her control.

She watched him continue to talk and considered the consequences of telling him. Naruto was a fiercely loyal friend and would do anything to protect the people he loved, and keeping him in the dark like this wasn't fair. But it _was_ necessary. There would be no controlling him if he thought Sakura was in danger. He would search for her with no concern for his own safety and would most likely wind up getting more people into trouble. There would be no stealth in his search since she knew he would tear up the entire forest to find one of his best friends.

With a pitying look at the young man, she knew it was better for him not to know. The best way to look for Sakura right now was with the trackers who could keep a low profile and infiltrate any place they needed to be.

Looking at the time she realized she had let Naruto talk on for almost five minutes without pause and that she was about to be late for her meeting. "Enough, Naruto! I have to go now."

"Aww, but I was just getting to the bit where –"

"No. I don't have time to hear it."

"Fine, but next time you see Sakura tell her to come visit me. And remember to give her more time off!"

Tsunade ushered Naruto out of her office, not wanting to leave him in there alone (the mess he could make!), and walked down the hall before he could bombard her with more chatter. If only she knew when she would see Sakura again, she would be all too happy to deliver Naruto's message. And she would gladly give her all the time off she wanted.

* * *

Sakura sighed and rolled over onto her stomach. She was currently lying on the bed and bored out of her mind. How many days had Sasuke said he would be gone, three? And what was it now, one and a half? Two? It hardly mattered since Sasuke would be back whenever he was back, there was nothing she could do to speed time.

Usually Sakura didn't get bored like this and was generally always able to find something to do, but right now she didn't want to do anything, reading didn't sound good and she had already taken a shower. Taking another nap was out of the question too since she wasn't tired at all.

She flopped over onto her back, lifted her right leg into the air, and stared at the chakra disabling bracelet. During the first several hours after Sasuke left she had tried to figure out the combination and chakra sequence, but to no avail. She didn't even bother with it anymore since she knew nothing would help. All she could do was wait for him to return. She almost wished someone would walk into the room and discover her, at least it would spice up her day.

Never did she think she would actually miss his presence this much when he left. She thought she had gotten over all aspects of missing him after the years of searching failed, but now she found herself useless and desiring him again.

No, desiring was the wrong word, it was too strong. There was no way she was going to fall for him again after what he put Team Kakashi through, there was just no way. Besides, she would hopefully be leaving him and going back to Konoha soon, she still hadn't given up on escape.

But for now, he could at least try to return a bit faster.

* * *

The darkness settled in while Sasuke continued to travel. The boy over his shoulder was still unconscious and Sasuke wanted to travel as much as he could now before the kid started squirming and causing trouble. Going back to the hideout after a mission such as this was always different than the trip there. This time he had to look out for any potential followers, and preferably be quicker even though he had person to carry. Luckily for him the boy didn't weigh much and didn't constrict his movements, so he was able to travel like usual.

Although Sasuke knew he should cover as much ground as possible while he could, he soon found himself slowing slightly and becoming tense and tired. He needed to set up a camp. There was no way to make the entire trip without some rest, so he looked around for a secluded area where it would be difficult to be spotted. Finding one, he set the kid on the ground and began preparing the spot for camp.

It wouldn't be safe to light a fire if he was being tracked since the smoke would attract attention, so he opened his backpack and pulled out a couple of blankets. He threw one over the kid and set the one for him on the ground.

This was when the young boy began to stir. Quickly pulling out a strip of cloth, Sasuke tied it around the boy's mouth before he awoke fully and could yell for help. Soon after, the boy's eyes opened slightly and he took in his surroundings. Seeing Sasuke and suddenly remembering what had happened, his eyes widened in fright and he tried to stand up, all to no avail since his legs and hands were tied. Any noises he made were muffled and he soon quit attempting to call for help.

Sasuke sat silently and waited for the child to stop panicking. When he did, Sasuke said "Don't try to escape, you won't get far before I find you and knock you out again."

The kid tried to mask his expressions with a blank stare, but Sasuke could still see the fear beneath it. He sighed, he hated having to abduct kids; they had no idea the proper way to act when kidnapped. Adults could recognize a hopeless situation and settle down to wait for whatever would happen next, but kids just wiggled around and made everything more difficult. He preferred them unconscious. However, they were easier to look after and were definitely less of a threat, especially this kid who couldn't even throw a kunai straight.

The boy began trying to loosen his restraints again, so Sasuke decided to sit back and ignore him some more. He pulled out a bit of food and began to eat in order to restore some energy. After awhile the kid managed to sit up, his legs bent in front of him, and sat still again.

He had calmed down considerably and was trying to think about what he could do in his current predicament. His captor hadn't hurt him yet, so that was a positive start at least. Looking on the bright side had always been a quality of his, and was one of the things that set him apart from other children.

Sasuke watched in surprise as the boy's expression relaxed and he didn't look as scared anymore, he even heard the kid give a muffled sigh of boredom. A child this age couldn't be so calm, could he? Sasuke tried to think back to how he would have acted if he had been kidnapped at ten, granted he never would have been abducted since Sasuke had always been able to protect himself against threats. He would have been nervous, yes, but he would have kept a cool head about it and waited for the opportune moment to attack. Could this kid be doing the same? Well, it wouldn't matter anyway since Sasuke would win regardless.

He watched the kid who was carefully watching him. What should he do now? It would be easiest to just knock him out again, but that seemed a little harsh, even for the student of Orochimaru. Instead, he asked if the boy wanted some food. The kid looked at him warily, so Sasuke said "It's not poisoned. If I wanted to kill you, you would be dead by now."

The kid gave him a look that Sasuke read as 'how-can-I-eat-with-this-thing-over-my-mouth?'

"I'll take the cloth off for a minute, but if you yell I won't hesitate to knock you unconscious again."

The child nodded and Sasuke pulled the fabric down and passed him some dried meat, then realized the kid couldn't take it without the use of his hands. There was no way he was going to untie the kid's hands from behind his back, so Sasuke unhappily settled on a new plan of action thinking, _Damn. Now I've got to feed him too._

Sasuke put the food near the boy's mouth and the kid bit it, chewing slowly. After a few more minutes of feeding him, Sasuke decided he had had enough of this and tied the cloth back around the boy's jaw.

Then he tied a longer rope from the binds on the child's hands to a nearby tree which would keep him from going anywhere fast in the middle of the night. Trying to forget his momentary lapse of character while feeding the kid, Sasuke closed his eyes, but stayed aware of any movements the boy made.

Confident that he would be able to recognize and stop any attempt at escape even while sleeping, Sasuke let himself drift off for a few minutes at a time, wanting to get the night over with so that he could finish the rest of the journey and complete his mission.

The boy stayed awake and tried not to feel too sorry for himself, even though that was hard to do when he thought about the ones he loved at home that were probably worried sick about him. Did they send anyone out after him? If so, he hoped they would arrive soon before he was taken to wherever they were headed. Why had he even been abducted? His confusion kept him awake while his mind ran wild.

* * *

**Hmm, not my most favorite chapter on account that it isn't very interesting. I had originally planned to include a lot more in here, but at the length it already was I decided against it since the next part will be long-ish too. Plus if I had kept on writing, who knows when I would have updated again! So at least there's a something (all be it boring) to keep you all occupied for a bit longer.**

**Oh and was that food part way too kind and tender of Sasuke? I reeeaallly wasn't sure if I should put it in here or not, and I _seriously_ considered taking it out. But I left it in here, so if you hated it please pretend it never happened haha. **


	10. Chapter 10

**8-3-2010. 'Ello everyone! I'm back with another update (finally). I can't believe we're on chapter ten already! At the beginning of the summer I set a goal to finish this story by the time I went to college (so that I wouldn't have to deal with homework AND chapter updates), but I am sorry to say that is not going to happen. This story seems to keep growing and I can't finish it up quite yet! I will still try to keep the chapters coming though. I feel bad whenever I'm absent for too long haha. **

* * *

An early morning ray of sun broke over the horizon and the first notes of birdsong began, waking Sasuke from his sleep. He sat up and found himself slightly stiff from the night spent lying on the ground. Standing, he looked over to the boy and saw him curled up and still sound asleep, then he began to pack the blankets that had been taken out for the night. Once the blanket was taken off the child, his eyes opened and he yawned as best as he could with the cloth tied over his mouth.

Sasuke gazed out into the trees in the direction from which he had come last night and wondered if they had been followed at all. He left the boy for a minute and leapt into the trees looking for any signs of another presence, and after finding none he returned to the camp site. He looked at the kid and thought about how he should travel with him today since they still had a lot of ground to cover and he didn't fancy walking too much of it.

Knocking him out would of course be the simplest solution. One hit and the kid would be out cold and oblivious to his surroundings, making it much easier for Sasuke to carry him while tree jumping. He didn't think the boy would comply to sit idly by and let himself be carried off, but maybe he was able to recognize how hopeless the situation had become for him and be content with facing the future as it came instead of trying a useless escape.

Deciding to avoid going through the trouble of keeping a continuous eye on the child during the trip, Sasuke was going to knock the kid out. As he began walking toward the boy, the kid looked up and Sasuke was surprised to see bright green eyes that struck him as oddly familiar. This confused him for a moment until he realized why; they were the exact shade of Sakura's. He hadn't thought about her since he snatched the child, and this unexpected reminder didn't please him; it only made him more anxious to get back to the hideout where he would be able to keep an eye on the girl.

It also provided him with another dilemma, now that he was looking into the kid's eyes and making an unwanted connection between the kid and the girl, he couldn't bring himself to knock him out. It was so unlike him to not be able to carry out such an easy task because of such a ridiculous reason, and he couldn't stand it. So he just sighed and instead asked "Are you able to jump from tree to tree on the branches?"

He was hoping the kid would be able to, because then he could simply keep a hold on the long rope around the child's hands and not need to carry him or walk the rest of the way. But no, the boy shook his head and Sasuke had to think of another option. He guessed he could manage if the kid rode on his back. It wasn't ideal, but Sasuke had dealt with many situations in his life that had been much worse than a simple extended piggy-back ride.

In order for the boy to be able to ride on his back like he planned, Sasuke needed to untie the kid's feet. He trusted that the boy wouldn't try to run, and knew that even if he did try, Sasuke would be able to very swiftly catch him again. After taking the bindings off the boy's feet, Sasuke lifted the kid onto his back, his arms under the child's legs to hold him in place during the journey. The extra weight hardly slowed Sasuke's pace and the two of them were soon far away from the one-night campsite.

**0-0**

The light was fading slightly from the forest as Sasuke and the boy continued their approach to the hideout. From the semi-familiar surroundings Sasuke could tell that they were starting to get near the underground lair, and put their arrival time to be in about half an hour or less.

Traveling with the boy on his back hadn't proved difficult, it wasn't as easy as knocking the kid out would have been, but Sasuke had managed just as well. They had taken a couple of quick breaks along the way, but other than that the day had been full of the repetitive motion of leaping from tree to tree, allowing both males to think about their own personal situations.

For the young boy, it was the fate that awaited him whenever they arrived at the unknown destination. For Sasuke, it was the condition of the girl he had left in his room.

It had been hard to wipe Sakura from his mind after seeing that the boy's eyes were the same color as hers, and this discovery had triggered him to think about her again. With nothing to distract him except the occasional surprise branch in his way, his mind was once again going over all the precautions he had taken in order to keep her presence hidden from the other inhabitants of the hideout.

It was all he could do until he was back and could once again be sure of the condition of his secret. Soon he would once again be adhering to the routine of training during the day and returning to monitor the situation at night, all while thinking of a way to end the predicament he had gotten himself into.

He was jarred from his thoughts when his foot slipped slightly on the loose bark of a tree limb and he had to correct his weight in order to keep from falling. It was also then when a kunai whizzed past his face, barely missing his nose.

Sasuke hurriedly moved from his place on the tree, looking for the source of the attack. If he hadn't have slipped, that kunai would have embedded itself into his head. Although he probably would have sensed the attackers if he hadn't been so wrapped up in his own thoughts. Then he would have been able to dodge successfully instead of lucking out with loose bark. Pinpointing the place of the known attacker, Sasuke set off in that direction forgetting about the boy on his back and the restrictions to his movements because of him.

The kunai had come from a ninja who had been crouched in a tree to Sasuke's right. This ninja was one of five who had been sent to retrieve the child after word of his kidnapping had gotten out. Although many of their ninja force were gone on another mission, the village had still managed to send out some of their finest to track and stop Sasuke.

The five men had spread out and surround the area where Sasuke was headed, hoping that he would fall into their trap. Luckily for them he was distracted and hadn't even noticed the half hidden chakras of the opposing ninja. They planned to take him out as quickly as possible and return with the child of their leader before the fighting attracted any attention.

A shuriken was flung at Sasuke as he approached the ninja in the tree, and he reached for his sword so he could deflect it. But when he moved his arm from the hold it had on the boy's leg, the kid slipped sideways and Sasuke tilted from the sudden shift in weight. Returning his hold on the boy, he jumped away from the ninja so that he could retreat for a moment and have a few seconds with which to plan his attack.

Who were these ninja who had seemingly come out of nowhere? The most probable answer was that they were from the boy's village here to take him back, who else would be after him like this? Sasuke's eyes darted to the trunk of a thick tree in a small clearing nearby and thought he could tie the boy to it so that he couldn't run away, thus assuring Sasuke full use of his motion while deflecting and sending attacks.

Before any ninja could approach him, Sasuke had darted to the tree and secured the boy, standing in front of him so that he could see any attempt to free the kid. Usually Sasuke would launch a full scale retaliation against the enemy, but that would involve leaving the child open for rescue. He would need to fight close to this spot and always keep an eye on any of the men who went near the boy.

Fighting while keeping something out of reach of the enemy was always more difficult, but Sasuke had to deal with this circumstance as best as he could. Now that his mind was focused on the impending battle, he was able to sense the presence of the five men. Five to one weren't the best odds, but Sasuke was sure that he could manage for the time being.

A spurt of fire shot out of Sasuke's mouth at one of the men who had appeared in the clearing and was now charging for him. Leaping out of the way of a kunai Sasuke twisted in midair while sliding his sword out of its sheath, aiming for the approaching man. Just as he was about to slice through the attacker, another ninja sprang from the trees as quick as lightning and slammed into Sasuke's side, making him miss his target. Grabbing this man by the wrist Sasuke threw him to the ground, and landed on his feet for a second only to turn around and block another attack from behind.

This group worked like a well-oiled machine, always ready to provide a way to keep the others from suffering a blow. So far they had managed to sufficiently make Sasuke lose some of his usual confidence, and he hadn't even landed so much as a punch on one of them. He would need to inform Orochimaru about the efficiency of the training that village seemed to offer its ninja so that they could deal with it in the future, but meanwhile he was busy with the five who were currently sending attack after attack. If this continued, he wouldn't be able to get a moment away from defending in order to launch an attack of his own.

Then he saw one of the men angling toward the boy, Sasuke sent chidori into the hand not holding the sword and dashed toward the tree as well. He dodged the punch thrown from his left and jumped over the man in front of him, successfully using his sword to slice the guy's shoulder. Anticipating another possible attempt to block his way, Sasuke went to the one who was running to the boy and hit him in the side with the chidori. Blood flowed from the wound and the man had to backtrack in order to avoid Sasuke's next punch.

Now on the offensive, Sasuke began throwing kunai with attached paper bombs at the regrouping ninja. After waiting a split second for the explosions to cause confusion, he darted back into the fray and landed as many hits as he could and taking only a few himself. That was until someone got hold of his arm and wrenched him to the side and into a tree. The bark splintered, making small lacerations on his face while he struggled to escape the grasp of the man on him.

Taking advantage of Sasuke's current position, another man started off in the direction of the boy tied to the tree. Seeing this Sasuke knew he had to escape quickly, and he managed to smash his elbow into the face of the guy holding him. With the grip released, Sasuke headed off the one aiming for the boy with the fireballs he sent flying from his pursed lips.

A pain in his leg caused the fire to cease and Sasuke looked down to realize a shuriken was now stuck in his left thigh. Landing gingerly and trying to keep as much weight as he could on his uninjured leg Sasuke held his sword in front on him, prepared for defense as his opponents began a new barrage of attacks.

The surroundings were a blur as Sasuke dodged weapons, kicks, and punches all while making sure no one got too close to his captive. He was kept so busy dodging and deflecting he wasn't able to land a hit on any of the others. Seizing a quick chance for an attack during a miniscule pause in the fray, Sasuke made the hand signs for another fire jutsu and took in the lung-full of air he needed.

Right before he was able to let it out, however, a paper bomb exploded to his right and he leapt away from it and into a surprise punch. Forgetting that he had just set up a fire jutsu, he exhaled from the shock of the hit and uncontrolled and untamed flames were released into the area around him, burning parts of his forearms as he quickly blocked his face.

Panting, he landed in front of the boy and watched the five ninja who were only supporting a few bruises and cuts at the moment, form identical hand signs in unison. So far the group hadn't shown the use of ninjutsu and relied mainly on taijutsu, leaving Sasuke the upper hand in skill level and creative attacks. That however, looked like it would soon change.

If he wanted to finish this mission, he would need to start making stronger and more successful moves to injure the opponents before he was put out of commission completely.

* * *

The trackers sent by Tsunade had left the area directly surrounding the battle scene in the clearing after cleaning up some of the wreckage and the three bodies that had been left. Now traveling from village to village they asked the people who lived there about any strangers they may have encountered and explaining the person for whom they were searching. Unfortunately no one had seen Sakura or any suspicious people around, leaving the trackers with very little to go on.

They began to spread out their search to the small towns further away from the battle ground in hopes that maybe someone from those villages had happened across the girl and taken her to get medical attention. The mysterious footprint made them believe that Sakura had most likely been taken. But by a friend or enemy, they didn't know.

After searching for the rest of the day and coming up with no more answers than before, they wrote another report to the Hokage and sent it to her by hawk from one of the towns. They knew she would not be pleased with the lack of information, but there was truly nothing they could find out about where the girl had gone.

Deciding to continue the wild goose chase tomorrow, the two tracker nin set up a camp for the approaching night.

* * *

Sakura toweled her hair dry after her shower and put on some clothes before walking out into the main part of the room. Even though she was the only inhabitant there at that time, she felt a little uncomfortable parading around naked knowing that it was _his_ room.

It was now day three since he had left, and she began to wonder how much longer he would be away. He must at least be close by to the hideout. Glancing at the clock she realized that it was actually closer to the end of the third day. Since there were no windows in the room she had to picture how much light would be left in the forest at this time, and she figured there was still enough light for travel. Would he carry on through the night or stop and make camp?

She sighed, picked up a book, and curled into the chair, moving her ankle so that the disabling bracelet didn't dig into her skin. Even soaking it in water didn't make a difference to the way it worked; these things were pretty indestructible.

Sakura was still fuming a bit from the ruined chance of her escape, but it no longer was the make it or break it point. She would just have to be patient for now; the opportunity would come up if she just waited, right? It would be impossible for this to carry on forever; soon something would have to change.

* * *

Three of the men lay motionless on the ground while the other two swayed where they stood, trying to regain their balance before attacking once again. Sasuke fared no better as he picked himself up off the ground having missed one of the men with chidori, ramming it into the earth instead.

He had wounds in his side, on his legs and arms, face, back, almost everywhere. His sword was sticking straight up out of a body after becoming wedged in the rib cage during the fatal stab, and was out of his reach for the time being. He looked over to the boy by the tree and saw that he was still secured and without a scratch. Sasuke's vision blurred as he tried to stand still and prepare for a possible attack. _Just a bit longer. Only two more and then I can be done._

A kunai zoomed past his ear, wobbling due to the tired throwing arm of the man who sent it. The other man sprang forward and kneed Sasuke in the stomach before he could move away. Falling back to the earth again, Sasuke had to quickly roll to one side to avoid a sword being thrust through his body. He stood as quickly as he could and prepared chidori in his hand once again; leaning toward the man he managed to just graze the guy's upper arm, cutting into the muscle.

Sasuke could still fight, he still had chakra and he was only being held back by the wounds he suffered. If he could just stay one step ahead of his opponents he would be fine and back on track with his mission.

It was then a fresh face was added to the battle. For a horrified second Sasuke thought it was another man from the boy's village who had come as back-up for the five men, but then he recognized the attire and realized it was a perimeter guard of Orochimaru's who must have heard the distant fight and come to inspect the source. This was lucky, for Sasuke didn't think he would be able to fight the two remaining men _and_ someone with full chakra and no injuries.

Orochimaru's guard had the element of surprise, swiftly stabbing one man through the stomach before the guy had even realized there was a new opponent. Easily skirting around the next attack from the remaining man, the guard grabbed hold of the man's head and slit his throat before he was able to escape. Seeing that there were no more threats the guard approached Sasuke, only to stop before reaching him and bow slightly saying "Sir, I heard noises and came to investigate, I apologize if I got in the way at all. Do you need me to assist you with anything?"

Sasuke looked him, annoyed with the eager and submissive man in front of him who had so easily managed to finish the men off. If he had had just a few more minutes, Sasuke knew that he would have prevailed and wouldn't have had to rely on this guard to do it for him. Lifting his shoulders a bit and masking pain from his face, Sasuke said "I'm going back to the hideout. Stay here and clean up."

The man nodded and started toward the bodies. Sasuke moved toward the man in whom his sword was currently stuck, pulled it out and slid the slick blade back into its sheath before walking over to the boy tied to the tree. The eyes of the kid were wide with fright; he had obviously never witnessed bloodshed on such a level. As Sasuke approached, the boy grew weak and pale and suddenly fainted where he stood, the bindings keeping him from falling to the ground.

Sasuke cut the rope and caught the boy before he fell, wincing slightly at the pain that shot through him when he moved. Judging which shoulder was the least uninjured, he threw the kid over it and leapt into the trees once again, glad that the boy was unconscious.

He kept up a fairly quick pace until he was far enough away from the battle ground that the guard wouldn't see him slow under the weight of the kid which now was almost unbearable. Sasuke was exhausted and bleeding; sure that he had some broken bones too. _At least I know I'm close to the hideout. I don't know how much longer I can go without resting. _

**0-0**

Walking on the ground now, Sasuke reached the hidden entrance to the underground maze of hallways and entered before he could be slowed by anything else. The child was resting heavily on his shoulder and Sasuke dripped blood on the floor due to moving around, leaving a shining wet path behind him.

Nearing Orochimaru's main lair, Sasuke wiped the blood out of his eyes and straightened so that it wouldn't look like he was too incompetent to have handled the mission, and so that he wouldn't show the fatigue that settled in with each step he took.

In the dimly lit chamber he could see the snake sitting and waiting for Sasuke to approach with the abducted child. "Sasuke," Orochimaru smiled "You're back with the child. Bring him here."

Sasuke did as he was told and put the kid on the floor face up so that Orochimaru could confirm who it was, but when nothing was said Sasuke wondered if he had indeed made a mistake and taken the wrong boy. He couldn't go back now could he? Not after the village was sure to be on heightened alert after the kidnapping.

His thoughts were silenced as Orochimaru smiled again and said "Good, he hasn't even got a scratch; there's nothing the village can complain about when I use him as a bargaining chip. But unlike him I see _you_ have some injuries. What happened?"

"I was ambushed by five highly trained ninja from this boy's village a short distance from this hideout."

"Did you finish them? Or are they now searching for you?"

"I got three. One of your guards heard the noises and got the other two by surprise." Sasuke replied.

"You got quite a beating, they must have been good. But tell me Sasuke, how come you didn't sense them? That's really unlike you." Orochimaru chuckled.

Sasuke was angered by the snake's words, and thought _Tch, he doesn't know me._ But Sasuke kept all emotion off of his face and out of his voice when he answered by saying "No reason."

Orochimaru smiled and chuckled again. If Sasuke was going to be like that, so be it. As long as the mission was completed, Orochimaru didn't care about the lie. Eyeing Sasuke's injuries and not wanting any lasting damage to occur, the snake asked "Should I send for Kabuto to fix your wounds?"

"It's just a few cuts, I can bandage them myself."

Smiling again Orochimaru said "Good then. Until I call for you again." And he dismissed Sasuke with a wave of his hand.

Sasuke managed to keep his back straight, not limp, or show any weakness as turned and left. Except for the drops of blood, no one would have been able to guess that he was even hurt. But in reality he was almost dead with fatigue and his vision was more blurry than ever.

The trek back to his room seemed to take a year, and upon reaching the door he fumbled with his key for a full couple of minutes before he was able to find it, fit it into the lock, and open the door.

Sakura stood up at his arrival with a smile on her face that quickly vanished as her eyes took him in.

Sasuke closed the door behind him and stumbled into the room where he collapsed, unmoving, onto the bed.

* * *

**Hmm kinda a cliff-hanger, huh? Don't worry, Sasuke'll be fine haha, I won't let him die. I know exactly what I want to happen directly next, so I don't think an update should be too far away, but don't hold me to that 'cause who knows what may come up to distract me from my writing. I only started this story idea out with a strong beginning and a vague middle and end, so I had no idea what was gonna happen. This whole idea with the kidnapping was out of the blue because it offered me a way to move on toward some new developments. I still don't know how everything is going to play out; now I just write as I go! Kinda a scary idea haha...**


	11. Chapter 11

**10-30-2010. I sincerely apologize for my absence. I know it was very long break and I feel bad that I left everyone hanging from that last chapter. I know it was irresponsible of me to just leave this story to sit on the sidelines like I did, so I would just like to apologize again. I was just really busy with starting college and I was really confused at what to write next. I actually wrote the first half of this chapter right after I posted chapter 10, but it wasn't completed so I didn't want to post it at that point. But then I was so un-motivated to keep writing since I didn't know what to say. Since I wrote the majority of this story over the summer the tone and flow of the story has been very much the same, so I hope that the long break between writing doesn't make the later half sound odd. **

**Once again, I'm sorry for not updating sooner.**

* * *

Of all things, Sakura had not expected this. Upon hearing the key in the lock she had stood up from the chair ready to welcome Sasuke back with a smile, unable to hide her happiness at his return. But the tired and bloody man who walked through the door was a terrible surprise. Seeing him stumble to the bed and lie down was frightening, she had always known him to be strong, to never show a weakness, but this new Sasuke she was seeing made her nerves jump around.

All Sakura seemed to be able to do at the moment was continue to stare at him, still not able to get over the initial shock of his arrival and appearance. "Sasuke?" She whispered "What happened? How did you, I mean, you're hurt."

Sasuke groaned from his position on the bed, ignoring her questions and instead replied by saying "Can you fix it?"

Her medical reactions finally kicked in and she hurried to the side of the bed and gently turned Sasuke over so that he was facing upwards. He winced as she did this, exhaling sharply and looking at her between eyelids slit in pain. She was glad to see that he was breathing constantly, albeit a bit raggedly. Placing her hand on his chest she could feel his heartbeat, it wasn't too weak, but it wasn't very strong either. Usually the strength of the beating heart was a good indication of the stability of the patient, and from what she could judge Sasuke wasn't in danger of dying in the next few minutes.

Breathing a quick sigh of relief she began to go about her medical procedures at a cautious pace, first by opening the front of his shirt so that she could see what she was facing. Seeing a deep gash in his side she began to gather chakra in her hand so that she could heal the wound, but was stopped by some invisible force. Her mind running wild she couldn't pinpoint the reason behind this barrier in her chakra, and tried to keep herself from panicking as she thought about what was going wrong.

It was then Sakura remembered the disabling bracelet locked on her ankle. Her eyes welled in tears of frustration as she realized she wouldn't be able to heal much of anything with it on. The only choice was to get Sasuke to take it off of her, but was he too lost in the pain from his wounds to be able to?

Sakura leaned forward so that Sasuke could see her clearly from where he was lying and saw that his eyes were open, and he was looking at her with a glare that expressed his confusion and exasperation over her inaction. "Sasuke, I can't do anything with the disabling bracelet on, I'm not able to gather enough chakra. I need you to take it off before I can heal you."

He propped himself up slowly on his arm so that he could get a better angle on the bracelet in front of him. The exertion was difficult to achieve, but he knew that the only way to get rid of the pain was to deal with it so that he could be healed.

Sakura watched as he struggled with the delicate and slow movements it took to enter the code and release the correct amounts of chakra. She saw the seam in the ring open and she quickly slid it off her foot while Sasuke fell back into his horizontal position.

Finally able to attend to her patient as usual, she gathered the chakra in her hand and placed the glowing green energy on the gash in his side and watched as the muscle fibers and skin slowly knit itself back together. Not wanting to run out of chakra before she was able to see to every wound, Sakura left the gash once it was healed enough to no longer be a threat and then moved on to the cuts on Sasuke's chest. While there she noticed an interruption in the lines of the rib cage and fixed her attention on that instead so that she could assess the reason behind it. Figuring out that it was a broken rib she concentrated on fixing it before the bones started to settle in the wrong position and before it could puncture any internal organs.

Soon most of the wounds on Sasuke's upper body were on their way to being completely healed and Sakura moved to the wounds on his legs. In order to accurately see what she was dealing with, she would have to remove his pants. Deciding not to disturb any of the wounds further than she had to by trying to pull the pants off, she removed the pouch of kunai from his leg and took the sharp weapon from it.

Angling the blade so that she wouldn't accidently slice her patient instead, she carefully cut through the fabric. Once that was out of the way, she could see the injuries that she now needed to fix. A puncture wound in his left thigh caught her attention and she moved her hand over it and began to bring the healing chakra to that spot. Sakura then moved on to the hairline fractures that had occurred in his shins and femurs.

When she had successfully stopped all the bleeding, she focused on finishing the last bit of healing on some of the wounds she had left half-healed in an attempt to spread her out her chakra. Content with her work, she stood up from her sitting position on the bed and walked to the drawer in which she had found a box of bandages and other medical supplies. Taking it out she went back to Sasuke and bandaged some of the wounds so that they wouldn't be able to open again when he moved. His eyes were closed and his breathing had steadied, but she could tell that he was awake, too strung out from the recent events to be able to fall asleep even though he was exhausted.

Sakura lifted her glowing hand to the small cuts she noticed on his face, but as her hand came into contact with his skin, Sasuke's eyes shot open and he flinched involuntarily. After pulling her hand away slightly, she placed it gently on his cheek and healed the cuts, ignoring the questioning look she knew he was giving her.

It was a soft and somewhat intimate gesture, but neither of them made any attempt to break it. To her surprise Sasuke lifted his hand and placed it over hers, offering no reason for his actions. Sakura moved her thumb gently over a small split in his lip, healing it quickly. It was at this moment that she felt a strange desire to kiss Sasuke, to simply lean forward and find out what she should have had all those years ago.

Instead she slipped her hand off his cheek, turned away, and said "You should get some sleep, your body will recover better from rest. And besides, I can tell you're exhausted."

Standing up, Sakura walked around the bed to the chair she had been occupying before he arrived. She sat down with a book in her hands, determined not to look at Sasuke and get thrown off kilter again. She too was tired and wanted to sleep from the draining medical procedures, but thought it was better to at least stay awake until he drifted off.

Working on people she knew was usually more nerve wracking than healing a stranger because of the personal level on which she was close to them. She knew their hopes and aspirations and that made her too emotionally tied to the healing process and sometimes even made her misjudge the best methods for dealing with them. And as she had found out, this most recent patient was no different. Seeing someone she had known and fought alongside so many times during childhood that badly injured was frightening.

There was a moment before she had begun to assess his injuries when she had frantically thought she was about to lose him, and this made her too caught up in her emotions during the entire process. And that, she figured, was the only reason why she had experienced that crazy urge to kiss him; her emotions were going haywire at the thought of him dying and she was simply happy to see him heal so well. In her partially chakra drained state she had fallen victim to an old bundle of emotions that she did not know still existed, but had successfully avoided the path to which they had been trying to lead her. _Once I've rested and gone back to my normal state I won't have to deal with this anymore. By then my emotions will have calmed and I can just carry on._ Sakura tried to convince herself.

Eyelids heavy, she began to nod off where she sat in the chair, tired and confused from the day's events.

**0-0**

With a jerk, Sakura woke from her slumber. She tried to move into a different position and found that her limbs ached from the way she had been curled in the seat of the chair. Confused as to why she had decided to sleep there she stood up, only to feel a thousand little pinpricks in her right leg where it had fallen asleep. Her brain still groggy and slow from her nap, she stumbled over to the bed and was about to climb in when she realized there was another occupant currently fast asleep on top of the covers.

Seeing him again brought the memory of his injuries and her healing back to mind and she automatically leaned in to check his vitals. His heartbeat still wasn't very strong, but it continued to beat steadily. The rise and fall of his chest was no longer ragged, the edges having been smoothed from the healing of his ribs and the decrease of pain. Deciding that Sasuke was stable enough not to need any more attention, Sakura lay down on the bed beside him, too tired to do anything else. Her short nap on the chair had done nothing to replenish her chakra levels and she was developing a headache from the exertion and heightened emotions of the previous event.

Not even giving a thought to the fact that she was sharing a bed with the man she had obsessed over for years, she closed her eyes and slipped right back into comfortable darkness.

* * *

Sasuke stirred and cracked an eye open, aware of the pain he felt all over his body. How long had he been asleep? He turned his head to the clock and noticed it was now morning; having slept the rest of the day and through the night after arriving back at the hideout the previous evening. Still lying on his back he tried moving his arms and found that he was incredibly sore from the destruction his body had went through. Sasuke ran through the previous day's events in his head, trying to see if he could remember it all.

He had been traveling back to the hideout with the boy when he was ambushed. A battle ensued and he barely made it through with his life, only to have to finish the journey back and report to Orochimaru all the while trying not to bleed out. After dragging himself back to his room he had collapsed onto his bed, forgetting at this point to hide his pain from the one who had been waiting for him. She diligently accepted the task of fixing his injuries and had obviously been successful since he was alive and well this morning.

He couldn't remember very many details from the healing since he had been almost blind with pain by the time he made it back to his room, but he could remember the look of absolute shock on Sakura's face and the flash of terror in her eyes when she saw the state he was in. It was lucky that she was here to take care of him, really. After turning down the offer of medical help from Orochimaru and Kabuto, he wouldn't have had much of a chance of healing himself.

Another memory from the night before now began to form in his head, and he tried to quell it as much as he could since he was not sure what to think about it. There had been a time during the healing when she had put her hand softly on his face, and he had let her. After all his time trying to keep people away physically and emotionally he had let his tough outer shell be breached so easily. Thinking about it now he chalked it up to the reasons that he had been distracted by pain and couldn't think clearly. Obviously that was the only reason why he had let himself be so vulnerable to her.

But deep down he knew that wasn't completely true. It had felt nice to be in her presence again after all the worrying he had done about her during his mission, and he had been grateful of her willingness to heal him. Which was why he had lifted his hand and placed it on hers, making the contact last longer. What had she thought about his actions? She had pulled her hand away soon after, purposely not looking him in the eyes. Surely she was just as confused as he was about the whole ordeal. Sasuke hoped she wouldn't mention anything about it later, he didn't know what reason he could possibly give for why he did that.

It was at this time that a rustling beside him alerted Sasuke to the fact that Sakura was sharing the bed with him. Had he been that wrapped up in his own thoughts not to notice this? First he almost gets killed from a surprise attack and now he is completely unaware of people next to him. Was Sakura actually starting to become a danger to him by affecting his senses this much?

She made a soft sighing sound and turned over to face him and Sasuke saw that she was still fast asleep. There were slight bags under her eyes and even in slumber she looked worn out. He could tell that healing him had caused her to exhaust her chakra stores, not to mention the worrying she must have been doing while he was away had taken its toll as well. It had been reckless of him, really, to risk his life like that now that her survival depended on his. But he couldn't exactly_ not_ take any more missions; he still had a goal to reach and he wasn't looking to drop that any time soon.

Wanting to get up and walk around, Sasuke tried to sit up straighter and swing his legs off the bed and onto the ground. Unfortunately for him this didn't work out so well and he ended up half falling off the bed before catching himself. At the disruption caused by the movement and Sasuke's mumbled curses, Sakura woke up. Seeing what Sasuke was trying to do she said "No, don't move! You need to stay still in order to fully heal."

Not showing any surprise at her voice Sasuke pulled himself back onto the bed and leaned back onto the pillows. "I thought your job _was_ to fully heal me, or was that too hard?"

Writing off his bad temper to the pain he was still in, Sakura replied "No matter how much skill a healer has, a patient still has to rest in order to completely recover. You don't want to permanently damage a tendon, do you?"

Sasuke shot her a disgruntled look in response. Sakura laughed saying "I didn't think so."

Getting up she walked to where the food was and grabbed him an apple before handing it to him and sitting back down on the bed. She sat there quietly while he ate, watching his movements for any signs of lasting injury. From what little she could judge, he seemed fine. Once he finished, she took the core from him and threw it away, returning once more to sit on the bed. This time however she said "Now, how did you get injured?"

At his continued silence she sighed and said "Come on, I'm not going to be mad or think less of you or anything. And besides, it would help me make sure I was able to correctly heal you. Do you think they used any slow action poisons?"

Unwillingly Sasuke started talking. "No, poison wasn't their style. They were more straightforward in their attack."

"And who was this 'they' exactly?"

"Ninja from the village my mission concerned. They ambushed me, we fought, and I took care of it."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Took care of it? Is that what you call what happened? It didn't look that way to me when you came stumbling in here."

"I thought you said you weren't going to get mad." Sasuke dryly replied.

"This isn't mad, this is stating the obvious." Sakura explained. "But anyway, continue."

"There isn't anything else to tell. I came back to the hideout, reported the completion of the mission, and came back to my room."

"That's it? I guessed as much on my own."

When Sasuke didn't say any more, Sakura gave up on it for now. Why tire herself out more than necessary? She gathered the bloody clothes from the ground where she had left them the night before and put them in the trash. Looking back at him she said "I know you want to immediately get up and get back to training, but I don't want you doing anything strenuous until tomorrow. Maybe even the day after tomorrow depending on how much you recover today."

"What counts as 'strenuous' then?"

"Almost anything at this point, so I'd say nothing harder than walking. And I would still suggest not trying to walk soon either." She answered.

"Am I just supposed to sit here all day?"

"Yup." Sakura smiled. Leaving Sasuke to wallow in self-pity, she walked into the bathroom to take a shower.

* * *

The guard that had assisted Sasuke in the final throes of the battle had cleaned up the bodies and picked up any salvageable weaponry, but he couldn't do much to hide the wreckage of the trees and the ground. So when the tracker nin from Konoha came across the site, they could tell that there had been a recent skirmish in the area.

Not sure whether or not this had to do with Sakura, they searched the surrounding space for any more clues, and in doing so they found another blood trail. This time the blood was easier to follow since it wasn't as spread out as it had been from the battle site where Sakura had fought the three rogue ninja.

Excited that they may be on to something the trackers quickly followed to trail, only to be left confused when it suddenly stopped without a trace. Had they walked into a genjutsu or some other defense? If so, that meant there had to be some sort of hidden place nearby. With their guards up and wary of possible attack they continued to look.

When an hour of fruitless searching ended, they decided to retreat for a while and send an update back to the village and the worried Hokage.

* * *

**So, how was this new chapter? Were you able to tell where I stopped writing during the summer and picked it back up again? I really hope not since that would mean it suddenly started sounding worse haha. I really didn't know how to make them act after they had both woken up. I figured Sasuke wouldn't want to talk about what happened and would be frustrated with himself for getting hurt so badly, but I didn't know what I wanted them both to say. Ugh. Stupid dialogue getting in my way. **


	12. Chapter 12

**4-21-10. Heeeeyyyy. I'm back. Yes I know it's been a few months, but at least I have something to show for it! A whole brand new chapter! It's over 4,000 words, so that makes me extra happy (since that's longer than most essays I write for school haha). I hope you enjoy it :)**

* * *

Sasuke was sure he had never been so bored in his entire life. Before, he always had something to do, or somewhere to go. But now, sitting on his bed for hours an end made him realize he had reached a new low that was sure to drive him insane before he ever got an opportunity to escape. He was sure even being in prison wouldn't be so terribly dull. At least in that case he would be able to get up and walk around his cell as much as he pleased.

Sasuke knew where the root of his problem lay, and that was with Sakura, the person who had been keeping him down for the past day and a half. She had outright refused to let him go back to his regular schedule of daily training on the account that he "hadn't completely healed." To him, that was nonsense. He felt absolutely fine and didn't understand the reason why he couldn't do what he wanted.

Shifting into a different position from where he sat on his bed, a twinge of pain shot through his chest from one of his recently healed ribs. Okay, maybe he didn't feel absolutely fine, but he knew he was well enough to at least walk around more.

Movement from the bed caught Sakura's attention and she eyed the man, trying to see if he was going to make another attempt to get up. Seeing him only scowl and position himself more comfortably on his bed, Sakura looked back down at her book. He had absolutely been driving her crazy. It seemed like every other minute he was trying to make an excuse to leave the spot where he sat, and she was losing her patience. Time after time he tried to tell her that he "felt fine" and was "completely healed." However, Sakura was a practiced medical ninja and she knew when a patient was trying to get something over on her. Sure, he was healing quickly and would soon be able to go back to his physically exhausting training routine, but for now he needed to rest. She could still see his body tense in pain when he moved, and was therefore convinced to keep him sedentary for a bit longer.

"Sakura." From where she sat in her chair, she looked up at Sasuke, waiting for him to state what he wanted. "I need to go to the bathroom."

Sakura rolled her eyes and said "No you don't. You went twenty minutes ago."

Looking back down at her book she silently let out an exasperated sigh. One of the only times she let him get up from his bed was when he had to go to the bathroom, so he'd been saying he needed to go more and more frequently. _Honestly, he's worse than a child sometimes._ She thought to herself as she continued her reading.

Sasuke frowned, had it really been only twenty minutes since he had used that excuse? Time sure went by slowly when there was absolutely nothing to do. At her denial of his claim, he found himself holding back a childish retort of "how do you know whether I have to go or not" from spilling off his tongue. He was above such things, for now at least. Sasuke wondered how much longer Sakura would make him rest. It couldn't be too long, could it? She had said that he shouldn't do anything strenuous for a while, and in his opinion it had already been "a while."

For the first day of his confinement he had tried passing the time by reading, but none of the books he had collected for Sakura were interesting to him. So he moved on to sharpening the few weapons he had with him. And, of course, he had been subject to listening to Sakura make conversation. Usually it was about something that had caught her attention while reading, or an idea she had been mulling over for a time. It hardly ever concerned him, so he tended to stare off into space as she continued on explaining. Sometimes though, she would mention something about the village in which he used to live or the people he used to know. When she did, she stuck to topics that wouldn't start an argument or lead to a conversation that he didn't want to have.

Surprisingly, she still hadn't brought up the topic about his return to Konoha. He had thought that topic would be something she constantly tried to bring up in order to persuade him into abandoning the goal he had held so closely for all this time. Instead, she seemed to be purposefully staying away from anything controversial. Sasuke wondered how long that would hold out and whether or not a talk about it was inevitable.

He looked at Sakura quietly folded in the chair and hoped that they could avoid the issue for a while longer.

* * *

_To: Hokage Tsunade-sama_

_From: Trackers Haruki N. and Kazue S._

_As you know, we had no luck asking the villagers around the battleground we found a few days ago. So instead we decided to search through parts of the woods that weren't in close proximity to any towns. In doing so, we came across another spot in which it looks a fight may have taken place. However, unlike the first, we are not able to find any traces of Sakura or her fighting style in the wreckage. We followed a blood trail that led in a westward direction from the fight, but it disappeared after a short distance. Suspecting a genjutsu of some sort, we continued our search but have found no further clues at this time. _

_We plan to continue our search of this area in hopes of finding something new soon. _

Tsunade sighed and folded the report along its previously made creases, dropping it on her desk. It had been the third time she read it, but no matter how many times she looked over the words they never changed or gave any new hope.

The letter had come earlier that day and had been rushed to her office immediately. At first she had always felt a resurgence of hope when the reports from the trackers arrived, but now after so much time of fruitless results she hardly held her breath when she opened them. It had been too long without any news of Sakura and the Hokage had moved from being in a constant state of worry, to a constant state of dread. Usually after this much time without a solid lead, the person in question would be moved to a permanent list of "missing persons" and a smaller search would continue for a while longer. And if they ended up finding anything, the news was never good.

In this case though, only the Hokage and the trackers knew about the missing woman, and moving her to the list would bring more attention to the problem.

Tsunade had to make a decision. She couldn't keep lying about Sakura's whereabouts, but she didn't want to spark any sort of panic over the fact that the Hokage's protégée and best young medical-nin was missing. Sakura was too close to the Hokage and knew too much about the village to not be considered a risk to their security if she had been captured. The Village Elders would have a fit if they found out, not to mention start another discussion over whether or not Tsunade was truly fit to be Hokage. But she also knew she couldn't keep this a secret forever and would eventually have to let people know.

Tsunade looked once again at the tracker report, staring at the approximate latitude and longitude of their position. It was taking a chance to send their whereabouts along with the report, but the Hokage liked to know where they had been. They wouldn't stay in that place long though, just in case the report had been intercepted and their location revealed. Tsunade stood up to add their most recent position to her map; it was her way of seeing the expanse they had covered. After making the dot in pink, she stood back so she could see what was in proximity to the new mark.

Studying the map for only a few seconds, she gasped and ran back to her desk to double check the coordinates that had been sent. No, she hadn't been mistaken; she had marked the spot correctly. Tsunade looked back at the map and the numerous dots that covered the paper and saw the new pink dot lying close to the purple-colored mark that represented areas they suspected to be occupied by Orochimaru.

This discovery added a whole new layer to Tsunade's worry; could Sakura have fallen into the hands of the snake sannin? If so, is there still a chance to retrieve her at all?

A crushing feeling of dread followed Tsunade back to her chair where she sat down and laid her head on her desk. The chances of Sakura's retrieval had plummeted considerably now. If her student was truly in the hands of Orochimaru, the mission would be changed from retrieval to a rescue, and Tsunade was sure the old snake wouldn't make it easy for them.

How had a simple mission to track down three minor-league rogue ninjas turned into such a complicated and worrisome event? _If only I had sent someone along with her! This whole situation might have been avoided if I had been in my right mind._ Tsunade thought to herself for a countless time since Sakura had gone missing. What Tsunade needed now was a new plan of action.

* * *

"Okay, that about covers it." Sakura said after finishing her examination of Sasuke's progress healing. "I think you should be able to go back to training tomorrow, as long as you do_ not_ overdo it."

Sasuke smirked, pleased with the good news. It felt like it had been weeks since he returned from his mission, although in reality it was only the end of the second full day. When he thought about it, however, he realized he had probably healed much faster than he would have without Sakura's help. The full extent of his wounds only a few days before had almost been enough to finish him, but with her work he was almost back to his original state.

He was impressed with her ability, but he wasn't about to tell her that outright.

"See?" Sakura continued "Your wait wasn't so bad. I've had patients who have had to stay in the hospital for weeks to fully recover, and you were close to going crazy during the few days it took you. There were times I thought I was going to have to tie you down in order to make you stay put. You're a nightmare for a healer." She laughed.

"Where did you learn all this?" Sasuke asked "You didn't know how to do it before."

Although he didn't offer a definition about what he meant by "before," Sakura understood that it referenced the time before he left the village to join with Orochimaru. "There's a lot that I've learned since then. Tsunade-sama taught me medical ninjutsu, and I've spent a long time practicing in order to become one of the best. I think it's always important to heal wounds."

"I see." Sasuke stated, wondering if there was another meaning behind her last comment. Did she think she could mend what had happened in the past?

"Anyway, like I said. You should be okay to go back to training, as long as you don't push yourself too hard. If you go too far so soon after recovery, you could wind up hurting yourself more. I mean it, okay?"

"Hn." Was all Sasuke replied.

It was such a typical Sasuke response, she laughed out loud. Small things like that made her almost forget that he had ever even left team Kakashi all those years ago. He was still so much the same in many ways.

Sasuke eyed her warily, why was she laughing? He hadn't said anything funny. She could be so odd sometimes, and he was sure he would never be able to understand her.

"Well, if you want to train tomorrow, I would suggest you go to sleep so that you can get a full night's rest." Sakura told him.

Sasuke slowly got up from the bed where he had spent the majority of the past few days and walked to the bathroom to get ready. While he did not like directly doing what Sakura said so soon after she requested it, he could think of no other alternative. The way he saw it, the sooner he got to sleep, the sooner he could go back to his usual routine.

Sakura settled herself back into the chair and decided to read until he was asleep. Although they had been sharing the same bed for the past few nights, neither of them had talked about it and they both preferred to not bring it up. Even though Sasuke was almost back to his previous state of well-being, Sakura didn't think it would be good to kick him back to his cushioned area on the floor where he had been sleeping beforehand. And she sure as hell wasn't planning on sleeping on the floor when there was a bed available.

It had been simple the first night after he arrived almost unconscious from blood loss that she slept in the same bed as he; she had been too tired from depleting her chakra to give it much thought. The next night however was a little weirder since he was still mostly awake when she awkwardly climbed into bed and avoided making eye contact. Since then, she had tried to wait until he was asleep before going to bed. Luckily he had been recovering from his injuries and would fall into sleep quickly and deeply and she could avoid waking him up when she moved under the covers.

But now that the situation was changing, she wasn't fully sure what to expect next. She doubted that he would banish her to the floor, but she could never be fully certain with Sasuke. _Why am I worrying about this so much? If he doesn't want me to sleep in the same bed, he can go find a new one! I mean, there has got to be a cot he could roll in here if he really was that bothered by it._

With that new mindset, Sakura went back to reading, while Sasuke got into bed, closed his eyes, and tried to fall asleep.

**0-0**

Upon awakening, Sasuke slowly sat up in bed and simply stayed there for a moment, adjusting out of his sleepy state. Getting a greater amount of sleep than usual always made him groggy in the morning, not that he minded it every so often.

He looked to his left and saw that Sakura was turned away from him and still fast asleep. The first couple mornings he had woken up and seen her there were odd, but by now he had surprisingly gotten used to it. _I can't believe I slept on the floor so much in the beginning. Now it's not even an issue that we both sleep here._ Sasuke thought as he slid out of bed and began gathering some things for training. _However, trying to sleep in the same bed those first few nights wouldn't have been possible; we were both too uncomfortable being anywhere near each other._

Sasuke paused in his collection of his training gear, and went over what he had just thought. Had they really gotten that used to each other in such a relatively short time? That was almost disturbing to think about. He had spent so long breaking any ties he had with his old village, only to stumble across part of his past and make it part of his present.

This idea also opened him up to a new possibility; would she end up becoming part of his future? It would be inevitable if he couldn't figure out what to do with her. There was no denying he had done little to figure out the situation he had gotten himself into after taking her back to Orochimaru's lair, and he really did need to find some sort of solution. There was absolutely no way she could stay for an extended amount of time. If he got a mission that would last a week or more, there would be no one here to make sure she was still a secret. The moment Orochimaru or Kabuto began poking around, they were sure to discover her and…and… he wasn't even sure what would happen if they found out.

After grabbing his katana, Sasuke left the room, locking the door behind him. On the way to the training room he continued mulling over his predicament. It wasn't practical, his notion that he would be successful in pulling the wool over Orochimaru's eyes long enough to come to a decision about what to do with Sakura. The longer she stayed here with him, the more likely she was to fall into more danger.

Sasuke wondered how much Sakura had been able to extrapolate about her situation. _She must have some idea of where she is, and the consequences of it. But if she has, why hasn't she said anything to me?_ Sasuke shook his head at that thought, of course she wouldn't tell him about it, he was still technically her captor and she would obviously want to keep her suspicions away from him.

After arriving at the training area, Sasuke stretched before warming up with a jog around the room. He wanted to make sure he was ready before trying anything too hard, even though it was more in his nature to want to begin right away after taking a break for so long.

As he was jogging, another thought came to him; if he let her leave the hideout, would she go back to Konoha and tell everyone about seeing him again? She would have to explain why she had been gone, and it would be hard to keep being held captive by her old teammate a secret for very long. Sasuke stopped running a few minutes later and moved on to practicing techniques with his sword, hoping he would be able to clear his mind with the new activity. However, it was to no avail.

He couldn't seem to forget about her, and thoughts about what he should and shouldn't be doing continued to plague his mind throughout his training.

**0-0**

Sakura awoke to find herself alone in Sasuke's room, not that it was really surprising anymore. She didn't expect to wake up and find it had all been a dream after so many days. For a moment she wondered where he had gone, but then remembered she had cleared him for training last night.

Sakura rolled over and wondered whether if she should go back to sleep or not, it was sure to be hours until he came back, and she would be so bored sitting alone until then. Having him around her constantly for the past few days had been a nice change; it had distracted her from thoughts of how her situation would play out. However much she wanted to, she couldn't forget that she was technically being held against her will in a strange place. Deciding not to fall back asleep she got up to take a shower, still thinking about her options.

She knew she couldn't stay here forever; there was no way Sasuke would allow that. Besides, the people she knew back home would miss her and wonder where she was. She had given up hope that she would be found and rescued after so much time. Plus, if she was right about being held in a hideout of Orochimaru's as she had thought earlier, there was a good chance no one would be able to find her.

Sakura was bothered by the fact that she had done so little to escape or pry more information out of Sasuke. Was she honestly glad to be back with her old teammate? Although she couldn't help being in this state of affairs, she almost felt as if she had betrayed her village. It was a crazy thought and she knew it, but if she was being honest, she hadn't even thought much about Konoha and her friends for a while. Would simply cohabitating like this with Sasuke make her forget her allegiance to the village she loved? And how could she stand to let Sasuke off the hook for abandoning their team all those years ago? It had been her and Naruto's plan to get Sasuke back and here was an opportunity to talk to him about it, and she was blowing it off in order to keep the peace between them.

And also, she had another thing she had desperately been trying to push out of her mind; the feelings she was starting to have for him again. It was stupid of her, so incredibly stupid of her to ever think that way about him, but she almost couldn't help it. She had spent a good part of her life interested in him and wishing to be romantically involved with him that those feelings were almost certain to surface once again.

_No. No, no, no! I can't think about that. I need to figure out what I should be doing to leave, not why I would like to stay with him._ She hadn't forgotten the pain of his abandonment, and she needed to hold on to it in order to keep herself focused on a goal of eventually getting back to her home. Besides, if she fell for him once more, it would only serve to make it harder to leave. If she ever got the opportunity to leave, that is. Sakura knew that she would never be able to break out of this room, find the exit, and run far enough away before getting caught. The only option she could see for her return to Konoha would be if she could convince Sasuke to let her leave. But bringing up that topic would be nearly impossible, especially since she didn't know the reason for her captivity.

In the beginning of this whole ordeal and before she knew Sasuke was her captor, Sakura had been certain she would be endlessly questioned for information on the Leaf Village without any hope of escape. All that had changed at this point. She honestly had no clue why she was staying with Sasuke. He didn't seem interested in questioning her about anything, especially the village he left. He didn't really even seem that interested in her in general. She served no purpose that she could imagine. Sure she had healed his wounds, but if she hadn't been there he would have likely had a different place he could have gone. It couldn't have been the first time he had been hurt on a mission.

Sakura was so confused about the whole situation she could hardly keep up with the pace of her own hectic thoughts. One idea led to another idea that turned around only to lead to another that only served to make her more perplexed with the entire thing. Nothing was clear and understandable, and it was tiring her out. The only thing she could do was wait and hope something came to the surface soon that would help her figure out her thoughts and emotions.

* * *

The trackers were absolutely dumbfounded about what to do next.

After once again searching the area where the blood trail disappeared and finding absolutely nothing, they hoped they would reach a brainwave about the next step. Hoping for a response from the Hokage about their current position and any new orders, they set up camp and sat silently, thinking through anything else they could do.

They hadn't found anything useful since the very beginning of their search when they had found the battleground where Sakura had left the mark of her fighting style. After that, their search was tantamount to stumbling around in the dark hoping to bump into what they were looking for. Although they didn't want to admit it to the Hokage, they were beginning to feel as though this search was over.

No new clues had been found and any hopeful possibilities of finding the young medical-nin were quickly disappearing with each passing day.

* * *

**There you go! Chapter 12. It's hard to even believe I've written 12 chapters of this already. That number seems so high for an idea that started out so small haha. I hope this chapter didn't jump around toooooo much, it's just that I had to cover a lot of the interim time before I can get to a better part. I hope you aren't getting tired of how I mostly only write what they are privately thinking and feeling. Doing that comes more naturally to me than having large sections of dialogue where they work out their issues. Hahaha, could you even imagine Sasuke having a conversation about his inadequacies?**

**Oh, and just in case you are wondering, I'm not going to cover the whole kidnapped boy thing to the end since it isn't relevant to Sasuke and Sakura (I really only invented that whole digression so that I could manage to get Sasuke hurt to the point that he needed to be healed by Sakura). Besides, Sasuke wouldn't be one to inquire about a mission with which he is no longer involved, so there would be really no way for me to incorporate that into the story casually. So let's just say the boy's village and Orochimaru work something out and everything ends up just dandy. How's that sound?**

**As always, thanks for reading and putting up with my less frequent updates. It means a lot :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**5-26-2011. Here's the next chapter, just a little over a month since the last one. I'm actually proud of the break between chapters this time, especially considering I had final exams since then and started a new job. Plus, this is a long chapter; a total 7,365 words, not even counting my babbling here and at the end! I think you all will like this one, or at least I think you should ;)  
I was so confused with the time frame from the beginning of the story unitl now, so I had to go back through and read my entire story and take notes haha. While doing so, I re-read so many little cute things that I had forgotten about, which is kinda sad since I'm the author. All while writing this chapter I kept getting excited like I was in for a surprise and I couldn't wait to read it, but then I realized I was the one writing it and already knew what was going to happen. I can be so lame sometimes. I'll put the timeline for the story up here just in case you're confused like I was.**

**Day 1: Sakura sent on mission, Sasuke finds her  
Day 2: Sakura wakes up, Sasuke and Sakura come face to face  
Day 3: (nothing much, just vague bits of ch.7)  
Day 4: Tsunade worries about Sakura not having returned yet, Sasuke summoned for new mission  
Day 5: Sasuke leaves for mission, Tsunade sends out trackers  
Day 6: Sasuke abducts the child, Naruto visits Tsunade  
Day 7: Sasuke attacked on way back to hideout, Sakura heals him  
Day 8: Sasuke wakes up from healing, they briefly talk about his injuries, trackers find Sasuke's battle spot  
Day 9: Sasuke complains about staying in bed  
Day 10: Sakura clears Sasuke to train, Tsunade gets tracker letter and suspects that Sakura is with Orochimaru  
Day 11: The first two parts of this chapter  
Day 12: The last part of this chapter**

**Wow. That is more days than I had originally intended. Oh well, things happen. I hope that was useful since I know I haven't always been clear about the days. Oh and by the way, those days do NOT line up in any way with the chapter numbers. If you want to know what happens in each chapter, my suggestion would be to go back and skim them haha. **

* * *

The sharp, thin end of Sasuke's katana sliced quickly through the air before cutting into the straw-filled human analogue supported by a sturdy wooden post. Almost instantly Sasuke pulled the sword out of the dummy and swung once more for another strong hit. He had been making the most of his first day back to training by practicing almost everything he could think of; running, lifting weights, target practice, ninjutsu, sword techniques, and more. It was getting a bit late, but he wanted to continue his work and make sure he hadn't gone soft over the few days he had spent resting in bed.

Even though it hadn't been a long time since his last physical exercise, he felt like he desperately needed to get back into his practice. Sasuke was tired of sitting still in bed with nothing to do, and he reveled in his newfound freedom. While part of his reason for training so late was to refresh his moves, the other part was to enjoy some time alone. Sasuke had gotten used to Sakura living with him, but it was one thing to leave during the day and come back in the evening and it was another to be constantly near her for a full day.

It wasn't that she annoyed him, he had had years with her in his classes and on his genin team to get used to her, but now it was something else. Something that he couldn't help but notice about her during the time they spent together; she had grown up.

When he found her unconscious in the woods he had been surprised that she didn't look like she did in his memory. Of course, when he thought about it later, he realized it was stupid to think she would be the same, since it had been years since they had interacted. Before, she had been an immature twelve year old girl who fully relied on others to help her through tough situations, but now he could tell that had changed. She no longer seemed uncertain about who she was and he could tell she gained a lot of knowledge and strength since her years as a fledgling ninja. Sakura was no longer a girl, but a woman, and he had noticed.

Sasuke's male senses were acutely aware of this fact, and he couldn't help but watch the way she moved and acted. These feelings had come unbidden to him during their time together, and it was getting harder to ignore them. Having a daily respite away from her to train had helped him keep his mind off it, but being in the same room with her for those few days had caused his feelings to almost constantly be on his mind. Being around her was intoxicating, and it was annoying him to no end.

He knew Sakura probably had no idea she was causing him this much trouble, and therefore wouldn't change the way she had been acting around him unless he brought it up, which he would never do. And if he did, how would he say it? 'Hey Sakura, could you control yourself around me? Your attractiveness has gotten a little out of hand and is starting to be an issue.' If he said that, she would probably die from shock. But, if she did die of shock, that _would_ put an end to his problems. He might have to keep that phrase in mind as a last resort.

For now, all he had to do was keep from acting on impulse and following his hormones. If he could retain his indifferent attitude at all times, he would be good. He was the king of indifference, so it shouldn't be too hard, right? Right.

Although, there was that one slip in his cold hard demeanor when she healed the small cuts on his face and he put his hand over hers in an effort to keep her close. But Sasuke could easily rationalize that instance to himself by knowing he had just come back exhausted and half dead from his mission, and was definitely not in his right mind. All in all, he knew acting on his unwelcomed feelings would only lead him to ruin.

The whole time Sasuke had been going over these thoughts, he had been pummeling a punching bag to no end. He didn't even notice it, but it was serving as a way to release his tightly wound emotions and worries over the issue at hand.

Sasuke took a couple steps back from the bag, jumped toward it, and rotated in mid-air to give his kick more momentum. Upon landing, he stepped so that the punching bag was behind him, straightened his right arm, and spun backward to slam his arm into it. Unfortunately, this didn't go quite as planned. Instead of hitting the bag with his arm, he only grazed it with his fist, which upset his motion and sent his arm back further than he intended. Sasuke could feel a muscle in his right shoulder move in a way it wasn't supposed to and send a spasm of pain through him.

He stood still for a moment after regaining his balance from the skewed hit wondering how badly he could have hurt himself. Rotating his shoulder and noticing the pain it caused, led him to guess he had probably pulled a muscle. He knew that with rest it would be back to normal soon, but not anytime in the next few minutes. _Well, that ends training for the day. I can't move like I need to if I have to watch out for my shoulder._ Sasuke thought while looking at the clock. It was a quarter to eleven at night, much later than he usually trained. Deciding there was nothing else to do, Sasuke started out for the kitchens to pick up some food.

As he arrived, Sasuke headed for the pantry and fridge, not even noticing the two servants who were busy cleaning the floors and tables in the kitchen area. Sasuke had learned to almost not see the people who worked for Orochimaru, since they seemed to be everywhere. Standing in the pantry, Sasuke looked around for items to bring back. Since there was no way to keep things chilled in his room, most of the food in the fridge was out of the question unless it was eaten the same day, which led him to rely on non-perishables. After taking some things from the pantry and grabbing a few pieces of fruit from a bowl on the counter, Sasuke headed toward his room.

Reaching his door, he shifted the food into his left arm and reached for they key in his pocket with his right hand, his pulled muscle protesting in pain. He unlocked the door, opened it, and shut it behind him before heading toward the table to unload the food.

"You're back! I was starting to worry that you decided to train the entire night." Sakura joked as Sasuke walked across the room.

"I wanted to make the most of my time training." Sasuke replied, while adding to himself that he also needed a long break from the effect Sakura had been having on him. Just being back in the room for less than a full minute, he was already aware of everything about her; the way she was sitting, where she was looking, what she was saying. It was incredibly bothersome.

"I figured you'd get back later than usual, I knew how much you wanted to return from training. It must have been hard for you to sit inactive for the past couple of days." Sakura said.

"It wasn't so much hard as it was boring." Sasuke said, while also realizing that all Sakura did all day was sit in this room. He had never thought about that before. If he had been confined to a single room for that much time, he would have torn it apart by now. It came so suddenly to his mind, he almost said something, but then decided he didn't want to get into a conversation about her captivity at the moment.

Sakura sat on the chair and watched Sasuke, wondering if he was going to offer to say anything else, not that she really expected him to. He seemed to have a gift of finding the most concise way to state what he thought. It didn't annoy her since that was how he had always been, but it made conversation more difficult to keep. _That's probably why he does it. _She thought. _He never seems to want to talk to anyone more than he has to._

Sasuke was aware of the silence in the room as he put away his katana and kunai. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk at the moment; he just didn't know what else to say. Usually she carried the bulk of the conversation and he just listened to the sound of her voice. _No, wait. I don't do that. I simply understand her words and add a sentence every so often._ Sasuke thought to himself, trying to deny the fact that he enjoyed hearing her talk.

Having run out of menial tasks to do, Sasuke decided to take a shower, mostly because after a day of training he needed one and because he needed another escape from the woman who shared his room. He kicked off his shoes and pulled his black training t-shirt over his head, making sure not upset his shoulder too much, and thought of how nice the water in the shower would feel on the muscle.

Sakura had still been watching him when he reached for the hem of his shirt and started to take it off. She rolled her eyes. Did he really have to undress in front of her? Not that she really minded though, it was just one more thing that caused her to think about her newfound romantic interest in him. Usually she would look away so she didn't have to see him shirtless and be reminded of her crush since she wasn't going to let herself fall for him again, but this time, something about his movement caught her eye.

Sasuke, for some reason, seemed to be holding his right shoulder awkwardly while extricating himself from his shirt, almost as if he didn't want to disturb it very much. Sakura watched him toss his shirt into the hamper with his left hand and move toward the bathroom without moving his right arm. Before he got there, Sakura called out to him.

"Sasuke, why are you favoring your right shoulder?"

Not wanting to alert her to the fact he had injured himself during his first day back training, he answered her with a false statement. "I'm not."

"That's a lie and you know it. I'm a medic and I can tell when something is hurting. Come here and let me look at it."

Grudgingly, Sasuke walked over to her mumbling about how it wasn't an issue and he would be fine.

"I know it's probably no big deal, but I still want to check. Now please turn around." Sakura said as she stood up from her chair.

In full medic mode, she examined Sasuke's back and shoulder to see if there was any damage detectable to the eye. There wasn't, so she assumed it must be something along the lines of a pulled muscle. She lightly prodded Sasuke's shoulder and when he flinched involuntarily, she knew it was causing him pain.

"What exactly did you do to hurt yourself?" She asked him.

"I miscalculated a hit on a punching bag and strained my shoulder." He reluctantly explained.

"Hmm, I think this may be more than just a strain. Hold still, I'll fix it for you."

"You don't need to-" Sasuke started to say before Sakura grabbed his left shoulder with her left hand and raised her glowing green right hand to his other.

From where he stood, Sasuke couldn't see what she was doing, but he could feel her. One hand was gently holding him in place, and the other was lightly moving along his muscles. He knew she must also be standing close to his back because he could feel her soft breath on his bare skin. It was almost too much for him at the moment. All he had wanted to do was get a break from her with a shower, but now they were standing so close he could feel the warmth emanating from her body. The chakra flowing through her right hand and into his body was hot, but not uncomfortably so.

He was fully aware of her nearness to him and he closed his eyes; simultaneously enjoying the contact, and trying to completely ignore it.

Fully concentrated on her medical ninjutsu, Sakura was unaware of the effect she was having on Sasuke. She ran her warm hand across his back, searching for any place that needed further healing. Not finding any, she released the chakra flow to her hand and it slowly dissipated, leaving a lingering warmth.

Sasuke felt her finish the healing and turned around, not at all surprised to find himself standing only a few inches from her. Neither of them moved away, both caught up in their own thoughts and feelings.

Sakura was standing between the chair and Sasuke, equidistant from both, eye-level with his collar-bone. _He's taller than he used to be to me; we used to be relatively the same height._ _I wish he would step back a little! I can't ignore him at this distance._ Sakura was thinking while trying to quell her re-emerging feelings for him.

A silent battle was unfolding in Sasuke's head that urged him to either close the distance between him and the woman in front of him, or to run. He tried to think rationally, but he was too near Sakura to function properly. Instead of following his instinct to turn and run, he lifted Sakura's chin so she was facing up at him, and placed his lips on hers while still keeping the space between their bodies open.

A thousand questions instantly tore through Sakura's mind, but were drowned out by the resounding and all-encompassing surprise she felt. Too surprised to even respond, she stood there for a full couple seconds before her emotions kicked in and she added her pressure to the kiss.

Sasuke's hand moved from her chin to cup her face while Sakura moved forward, causing the gap between them to become infinitesimal in amount.

Then, as quickly as he had initiated it, Sasuke broke the kiss and stepped backward. Without meeting Sakura's eyes, he walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Moments later, Sakura heard the water start running for the shower.

Sakura was still too surprised, from both the kiss and its abrupt ending, to do anything other than stand in one place and stare at the door through which Sasuke had disappeared. As the event began to sink in, she made her way to her chair and lowered herself into it. _What the hell just happened? _Was all she could manage to think for a while. One moment she had been healing his pulled muscle, the other he was kissing her. There had been some bits of time between those two instances, but that was essentially what had happened. It was so unlike Sasuke to do something like that, and Sakura couldn't understand why he would. He hadn't even insinuated that he liked her like that, or even liked her at all.

While a part of Sakura was still in shock about Sasuke's most recent actions, there was another part that was bursting with excitement. After all her girlhood years of sustaining a crush on Sasuke, she finally shared a kiss with him. There was no denying the fact. Sure, it had taken him leaving the village, painfully killing her feelings for him, and years of unanswered questions to get to this point, but it had still happened.

But _why_ had it happened? There was no explanation she could think of that gave her a solid reason why Sasuke kissed her. Normally, a person would kiss another person if they were romantically interested in that person, but since when had her relationship with Sasuke ever been normal?

If she had to describe her relationship with Sasuke before today, she wouldn't have even used the word "friends" since she didn't believe he felt friendly toward her. The words she would choose would be somewhere along the lines of "slightly closer than an acquaintance" since she had been around him a lot and had gotten to know him without ever truly becoming his friend. People usually did not kiss their acquaintances though, so what does Sasuke think of their relationship?

Sakura wanted answers, but she wasn't sure how she would be able to get them. Sasuke had never been open with his thoughts and emotions, so there was a good chance he wouldn't explain why he did what he did. When he got out of the shower he would probably pretend nothing had happened, leaving Sakura to be the one to bring up the awkward conversation. She really hoped she wouldn't have to start that talk, but what choice would she have if Sasuke kept silent?

They needed to clear the air before being able to adequately continue living with each other. _If we don't talk about this, how are we going to sleep in the same bed? Maybe I should sleep on the chair. But I don't want Sasuke to think I don't like him, so I can't avoid him. This is more complicated than it needs to be!_ Would Sasuke be insecure enough to wonder whether or not Sakura liked him? It didn't seem like he would, but she wasn't sure about anything dealing with him at the moment.

Deciding there was nothing to do until Sasuke got out of the shower, she got dressed in her sleeping clothes and then sat on the chair to lose herself in her thoughts.

**0-0**

Turning the water off, Sasuke stepped out of the shower and grabbed his towel from where it had been left on the floor. He had taken a longer shower than usual in an effort to prolong the time until he had to go back into his main room and face Sakura, but he knew he would have to leave eventually. After all that time telling himself to avoid acting on impulse and stay indifferent, he goes and does something like _that_, the absolute opposite of being detached. He almost felt as if he should apologize to her for doing something so out-of-the-blue, but he knew he wouldn't, it was against his nature to apologize for something that didn't truly need it.

He still wasn't sure what had come over him at that moment which led him to kiss her. Perhaps it had been the culmination of his thinking about her during the day, or their physical closeness when she was relaxing his pulled muscle, but whatever it was, Sasuke should have been more careful. How was he going to explain this to her when she asked? It was inevitable that they would have to talk about it and what it meant for her captivity.

Even before this instance Sasuke hadn't known whether or not to keep Sakura in the hideout, and this only complicated the matter. She couldn't stay in his room forever, but could he let her leave? She knew him better than most people, and he liked having someone to be around when he came back from training, but did she feel the same way? Sakura could be angry at him for kissing her and then bolting to hide, she might still be angry at him for leaving the village years ago.

Sasuke wasn't sure if the words some people used such as "like" or "love" fit what he felt for her, but he knew he didn't hate or dislike her. Sasuke understood hate enough to know that wasn't what he felt toward her. But, it was possible Sakura had changed how she thought about him since he had abandoned his previous village. There had been a time when she had professed to love him and frequently took pains to be around him when she could. That had been years ago, and she hadn't shown any of those feeling during the time she had lived here with him. However, she must not have been upset by the kiss because she _had_ responded to his actions, which would mean she didn't dislike him as much as he thought she might.

Knowing she probably wasn't angry at him made the prospect of going back in the room easier, but Sasuke still didn't want to. He was fully dry from his shower by this time, but he just stood in the bathroom avoiding what he knew he must do. He briefly thought about spending the night on the bathroom floor, but that would only serve to make him feel cowardly and make the next morning even more awkward. Sasuke hung his towel on a hook, dressed into the sleeping clothes he had left in there that morning, and decided to simply pretend like nothing had happened when he walked into the main room.

Sakura had been nervous since the moment she heard the shower turn off, but this nervousness abated slightly during the prolonged time Sasuke stayed behind the closed bathroom door. As she heard the door open and saw Sasuke walk out, the butterflies in her stomach started up again. He looked so cool, calm, and unaffected; she began to wonder whether or not she had imagined the kiss.

Sasuke tossed the rest of his training clothes into the hamper, all while trying to ignore the pink-haired girl. Neither of them said anything, but they both kept stealing surreptitious glances at each other, quickly looking away if their eyes happened to meet. The silence continued as Sasuke finished his tasks and Sakura sat in the chair, but as he began making his way to the bed to go to sleep for the night, Sakura spoke up.

"Sasuke? I don't want to bring this up in such a way, but, what happened? Earlier, I mean. I'm just confused right now, is all."

Sasuke sighed and briefly closed his eyes, trying to think of something to say. He couldn't blame her for asking, he was still searching for the answer too. "I don't really know, it suddenly came over me and I didn't try to stop it."

"But _why_ would it come over you? I've known you for a long time, and that is definitely not something I ever expected you to do." She continued

"I'm still trying to answer that myself, Sakura."

He could see that she was still confused, and when she didn't press further he surprised himself by speaking again, this time in a somewhat apologetic tone. "I was caught in the moment and I acted upon my emotions and against my better judgment."

Recognizing this as a sort-of apology from Sasuke, even though she didn't think he needed one, she smiled slightly and joked "Hmm, that's odd. I didn't think you _had_ emotions."

Sasuke smirked as he realized she caught him making a connection between himself and feelings in his last statement. "I usually try not to." He said in a voice that held no contempt.

They looked at each other, both glad for the lighthearted feel of the room for it made everything easier. While they hadn't addressed the entire issue at hand, they had done enough to clear the air and be able to move on without a stumbling block in the way. Sasuke got into bed as Sakura went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth.

Turning off the light, Sakura crept across the room in almost complete darkness, knowing she wouldn't run into anything since the room had become so familiar to her, and got under the covers on what they both considered to be "her" side of the bed.

Both were awake and lying turned away from the other, but neither of them said a word, both secretly glad to have the other only a small distance away.

* * *

Tsunade hated having to wait this long to discuss her new suspicions about Sakura's whereabouts with the person she wanted. Every second she waited was a second that Sakura could be falling more deeply into danger, or worse.

After discovering the trackers were nearby a possible hideout of Orochimaru's she decided she needed to bring another ninja into the small circle of people who knew Sakura was missing, but the person she wanted had been on a reconnaissance mission scheduled to return shortly. Taking a chance, Tsunade chose to wait until the man she wanted for the job was back.

The letter from the trackers had come the afternoon of the day before, and it was now the early evening of the next day. The time between receiving the letter and now had given her time to think more about what capture by Orochimaru would mean for Sakura. At first all Tsunade could think about were the possible ways pain could have been inflicted on her student in order to get her to divulge information on Konoha. After nearly working herself into a frenzy, another thought came to her about what else might come with Orochimaru, and that other thing was Sasuke.

The Fifth-Hokage had not been around for the beginning of Team 7, but she had been there to watch it fall apart. From what she had gathered, the team had been bound together by Sakura's child-like adoration of Sasuke and the competition between Sasuke and Naruto, all while Kakashi looked on and interfered only when necessary. But she realized there had been something stronger than that when Sasuke left and she saw the broken remains of the team struggling to recover.

However much Tsunade did not want to doubt Sakura's intentions, she had to wonder whether or not Sasuke was somehow involved in her late return. Could Sakura be purposefully extending her original mission in order to convince Sasuke to come back? If it came to a fight, she knew there would be a slim chance of Sakura returning in one piece. But how could they have even run into each other in the woods? According to the information the trackers found, Sakura had most likely been carried away from the place where she fought the three rogue ninjas, which wasn't close to the suspected hideout. Not all of it made sense, but Tsunade had to think of the possibilities.

A knock on the door brought her wandering mind back to her office. "Come in." She called.

As Kakashi walked through the door, Tsunade felt a small wave of relief at his arrival. He had been the person she was waiting for.

"Good evening Tsunade-sama. I arrived at the gates a few minutes ago and they said you wanted to see me as soon as I could manage it."

"Yes, I did. Thank you for coming here so soon after your mission." Tsunade took a breath before continuing with the reason she had called him here. "What I am about to tell you is known only by me and the two trackers I sent out. I have often thought whether or not I should have made this more well-known from the start, but I can't change that now."

Kakashi stood still, waiting for the Hokage to tell her story at her own pace.

"Eleven days ago, including today, I sent Sakura Haruno on a mission to capture or kill three small-time rogue ninja who had been spotted around some of the border villages. Eight days ago I first began to worry when Sakura had not returned, but I wrote it off as simple delays in the mission. The day after that, the fifth day after sending Sakura on the mission, I sent two trackers out looking for her. They found the place where the bodies of the three rogue ninja lay, but they did not find any solid trace of Sakura. After assessing the area, they concluded that she must have been badly injured and been carried off by someone."

Tsunade paused in her recount of the situation, waiting to see if Kakashi had any questions. When he didn't speak up, she continued.

"Since then, the trackers have been searching the area and following any possible leads, but have found nothing. None of the villages nearby the woods have seen her, which has left the trackers to comb the woods for clues. Yesterday afternoon I received a letter from them about a battle spot nearby a place we suspect to belong to Orochimaru. There was no reason that led them to believe Sakura was there, but it has been the only activity they have come across. However much I don't want to consider it a possibility, I fear Sakura could have fallen into the hands of Orochimaru."

Tsunade waited for the information to sink in and for Kakashi to think about it. She hoped he would have a fresh look on the situation and provide her with some other options. Maybe she shouldn't have led him to believe Sakura was with Orochimaru, it could have twisted his thoughts.

"Have the trackers tried to search the area where Orochimaru might be?" Kakashi asked.

"No. I don't think they realize how close they are. Yesterday I sent a hawk out for them with a message calling off their mission. I'm afraid there was no point to prolong their search with no good leads."

"That's understandable; they've done what they can." Kakashi said before saying his next thoughts. "I don't think we should jump to the conclusion that she's under Orochimaru's possession at the moment. Is there a possibility the trackers missed a village to question?"

"I don't think so." Tsunade answered. "I've been marking the areas they've visited on the map and it doesn't show any towns they didn't go to. The lack of a trace of Sakura also leads me to believe she might have been carried off by someone who knew what they were doing, not just a townsperson. The trackers had a blood trail for a while, but lost it in the rain. I've got all their reports, I'll let you read them later, but I first want to talk to you about Orochimaru some more and about what it might mean for Sakura."

"You're wondering whether or not Sasuke might be there." Kakashi said. It was not a question, he had thought of Sasuke at the first mention of Orochimaru.

"Yes. Kakashi, you know better than most about Sakura and Sasuke as you had them on your team when they were genin, and I need to know how strongly she might still feel for him."

"You want to know whether she could forget her loyalty to the Leaf in order to be with Sasuke?"

Tsunade nodded, feeling slightly ashamed at her ability to doubt her brilliant young student. "I know she loves Konoha and wouldn't easily give it up, but I didn't know her that well around Sasuke. All I've seen is her shared determination with Naruto to bring him back."

"As their teacher, I admit I've wondered about that too. I know Naruto would fight Sasuke in order to bring him back, but Sakura is more subtle. I wondered if, given the opportunity, she would side with him in order to gain his trust. Whether or not she would be able to successfully convince him I don't know, but I don't believe she would abandon her village for a man she no longer loves."

"So, you don't think she still harbors romantic feelings for him?" Tsunade asked, glad Kakashi had brought up the subject of Sakura's infatuation.

"If she does, they aren't as dangerously strong as they were when she was twelve. She's learned a lot since then, and accepted his departure."

"Thank you, Kakashi. I like to think I know Sakura well, but I'm glad you were able to fill me in on some of her history with Sasuke."

Kakashi nodded, remembering a time when his team had been a single unit, whole and in tune with each other. Tsunade opened the drawer in which she kept the letters from the trackers and stood up to hand them to Kakashi. "Here are all the reports. I'll go get a chair for you while you read them. I know you've had a long day, but I still want to talk to you more about this case."

"I understand." Kakashi said.

Before Tsunade got to her office door, Kakashi asked "You said only you, two trackers, and now me know about Sakura, right? Is there any possibility Naruto has found out?"

"No, I've made sure of that. I don't think it would be wise for him to find out unless absolutely necessary, I'm afraid it could make him lose all reason." She said, turning back to Kakashi.

"That's good to hear. I know him too well to think he could sit this one out patiently. I think you were right to not let this news reach very many people." Kakashi replied before opening the first tracker report.

Tsunade left to go find a chair in another room, appreciative that Kakashi had agreed with her choice to not broadcast the news of Sakura's disappearance. With Kakashi sitting in her office ready to brainstorm the next best moves, Tsunade felt a flicker of hope for the return of her favorite student.

* * *

Sasuke cracked an eye open and looked at the glowing numbers of the clock; it was time to start training. Not wanting to disturb the woman lying next to him, he slowly sat up and slid out of bed, making as little noise as possible. Getting out of bed and collecting the things he needed for training was almost like a practice test on stealth; if he could make it out the door without waking Sakura, he would pass. Although that idea was a little lame and he knew it, Sasuke still felt like he would lose in some way if she were to get up too.

As he was finishing his tasks and on the way to the door, he accidently kicked the dresser and flinched at the sound it made. Sasuke stood still and listened, waiting to see if the sleeping woman would wake. How had he even run into the dresser? It's not like it had moved during the night. Blaming it on the darkness of the room (he tried to get ready without turning on the lights which would wake Sakura) and not noticing any movement from the bed, he opened the door, slipped out into the hall, and locked it behind him before making his way to the training room.

When she heard the door lock, Sakura rolled over. She had been awake soon after Sasuke had gotten out of bed, but she didn't want to let him catch on. Sakura could tell Sasuke tried his best not to disrupt her sleep, so she let him believe he hadn't. She usually didn't wake up when he did, but if she did, she tried to keep her breathing as steady as possible so as not to let Sasuke figure it out. Knowing there was no point to get up at this early hour, she closed her eyes and drifted back into dreamless sleep.

**0-0**

That afternoon, Sasuke was still training. During the earlier parts of the day, he had been distracted by his thoughts about Sakura and last night. He still did not know why he had kissed her so unexpectedly, but he knew he didn't regret it.

She hadn't seemed mad or upset, and he was absolutely fine with that. The last thing he wanted was for her to be angry with him since that would mean he'd have to deal with her every time he went back to his room. _If I hadn't taken her from the woods that day, I wouldn't be having these thoughts. I would be alone in my room, like I have been for a very long time._ Even though Sasuke had acclimated to Sakura's presence, he still couldn't help but think how his life would have been different at this moment if he had not gone to investigate on his way back from his mission. But, if he forced himself to think about it, he didn't regret that either, especially now. In all honestly, he was actually glad she was with him.

Anyone else would have recognized Sasuke's feelings and slightly more positive outlook as the effect of a crush, but Sasuke never would, he was too dense to figure it out. He convinced himself he was just appreciative of her healing, which had more likely than not saved his life. It had only been four days since returning so beaten up, but now he didn't even have a scratch. If he had been left on his own to handle his injuries and managed to stay alive, he would have been incapacitated for much longer before training again.

As the day wore on into early evening, he was able to lose himself completely in his training and the physical work it demanded of him. He loved to feel the power and determination that coursed through him as he went about the room trying various moves. Sasuke was so lost in his training that he didn't notice the man standing in the doorway watching him, until he spoke up.

"Why look at you, Sasuke. You are wrapped up in your training today, aren't you?"

Sasuke spun around at the sound of the voice and found Kabuto leaning on the doorframe across the room.

"What do you want?" Sasuke spat. He couldn't stand Kabuto and he hated how he was always sucking up to Orochimaru. Plus, it didn't help that Sasuke was never quite able to understand him since he was cryptic and had many mysterious motives.

"You have no time for small talk, like usual." Kabuto chuckled. "I don't want anything, I was simply walking by when I heard someone in the training room and came to investigate. To be honest, I was surprised to find you."

"Why is that? I'm always here." Sasuke responded. He was irked that Kabuto interrupted his training for no reason.

"Well, Orochimaru-sama explained the extent of your injuries after your last mission and that you turned down my help. From what I gathered, you were quite a mess."

Sasuke worked to keep his face blank as his mind ran into overdrive. What was Kabuto implying? Did he know something more than he was letting on? Realizing how his situation must look from Kabuto's perspective, Sasuke understood; he should still be showing damage after turning down medical attention after such a brutal beating. How had he been so stupid? He hadn't thought about how odd his fast recovery would look to others.

"Tell me, Sasuke, how is it that you can be training so hard after such short a time, and have no trace of an injury? I didn't realize you knew medical ninjutsu."

Sasuke's voice was as indifferent as ever when he replied "My injuries must not have been as bad as you thought."

"Oh, is that so? I guess I exaggerated the information Orochimaru-sama gave me." Kabuto said with a smirk. He wasn't trying to fool anyone, it was obvious Kabuto didn't believe Sasuke, and Sasuke knew it. "I'll see you around, then, Sasuke-_kun_."

With those last few words, Kabuto turned away from Sasuke and headed back down the hall.

Too shocked to move, Sasuke stood still for a full minute and listened to the footsteps fade away. What had he been thinking this whole time? He had gone back to his usual routine without thought to how it would look to others. He was supposed to think of everything, every little detail so that he would be able to hold the secret he'd been keeping ever since returning from the woods with the unconscious woman in his arms. But he had slipped up, and now Kabuto was suspicious. And this all led to one big question; Did he know about Sakura?

Sasuke was so angry with himself, he had to fight to keep from lashing out. What he really wanted to do was hunt down Kabuto and teach him a lesson, but that would do no good and only serve to bring more attention on him. How much did Kabuto know? Had he been able to figure anything out? And what was that enigmatic "-kun" he had added to Sasuke's name? Kabuto had stopped adding that suffix when he got bored with Sasuke's indifferent attitude to it.

Sasuke wondered if it could have been a sign. Sakura had always called him "Sasuke-kun" and Kabuto had been around them enough during the chunin exams all those years ago to probably notice. If Kabuto was really using that as a way to hint to Sasuke about what he knew, they could be in trouble. Kabuto didn't keep many secrets from Orochimaru; it was safe to say that if Kabuto knows something, chances are Orochimaru does too.

But, he could also have called him that to get on his nerves and to keep the false pretense of a friendship between them. There was no reason for Sasuke to get so worked up about this just yet. He needed to calm down and think hard about the situation, if he didn't, there was a chance he could make another mistake.

Training was done for the day. Sasuke knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate anymore with all these uncertainties running through his head. As he was collecting his gear another thing struck him; if Kabuto was suspicious enough about him, he could have gone to Sasuke's room to snoop around, which would mean he would run into Sakura. Sasuke doubted Kabuto would go to those lengths to investigate since Kabuto was usually all bark and no bite, but he still worried.

Sasuke took off down the hallway back to his room at a brisk pace, hoping that he wouldn't find any unwelcome surprises waiting for him when he arrived.

* * *

**Did you like it? I really hope so! Writing it was fun, for the most part :) There were some days I would write 2,000 words in one sitting, and other days where I would look at it and do nothing, or just write a hundred words.  
I've been watching the anime as it comes to website from which I watch it, and I have to admit that Sasuke is scaring me a lot. I don't like to think about it, but I am losing hope for the happy ending of our favorite couple. I just don't know if Sasuke is going to be able to pull through all the hatred in his life :(  
So instead of feeling terrible about that, I just write this story instead and lose myself in a delusion! Great plan, right? Hahaha. As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	14. Chapter 14

**9-25-2011. Hi! I'm back! I've had the middle part of this chapter written since before I was even finished with the previous chapter, but the other parts were causing me problems which is why it took me so long :(  
In any case and without more delay, here is the most recent chapter of the story!**

* * *

Sasuke's pace slowed as he neared his room and looked around cautiously for any unusual signs. Kabuto wasn't in sight, which either meant he hadn't stopped by or that he had heard Sasuke coming and fled before being found out.

Standing outside his door, Sasuke paused and tried to see if he could sense the chakra of the woman in the room; if he could sense it, it meant that others could too. He felt a faint tinge of her chakra, but nothing that would catch the attention of someone walking down the hall. Sasuke thought Sakura might be suppressing her chakra a bit since it would usually be stronger at this distance, not that he was complaining; anything that kept her hidden was welcome to him at this point.

Turning the key in the lock and opening the door, Sasuke was greeted by a surprised Sakura sitting on his bed with a book. "Oh, Sasuke, you're back earlier than usual. Did you get tired of training?"

Sasuke nodded slightly as he dropped his training bag by his closet, thinking more about whether or not Kabuto knew about Sakura. It was obvious he hadn't stopped by and tried to enter the room, or else Sakura wouldn't be so calm. But that didn't mean Kabuto hadn't stood outside the door for a minute or two.

"Are you suppressing your chakra?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

Surprised at the out-of-the-blue question Sakura answered "Yeah, why?"

"I noticed I couldn't detect a strong chakra source while unlocking the door."

"Does it matter? I do it partially out of habit and partially since I sometimes hear people walking down the hall."

"Well, it doesn't hurt. It's probably a good thing to keep it lowered." Sasuke said more to himself than to Sakura.

"How come? Should I be worried about anything?" Questioned Sakura.

"No." Was Sasuke's quick reply. He didn't want Sakura to think there was anything out of the ordinary going on; it would be best to keep his recent suspicions regarding Kabuto and Orochimaru to himself.

Sasuke walked over to a chair and sat down. He wasn't used to having free time in the evenings since he usually trained late, showered, and then went to bed, but now that it was only early evening, he had to occupy himself. Looking over at the stack of books he had collected for Sakura he decided that he should try to read one in order to keep his mind off the day's events. He stood up, grabbed the first thing that caught his eye, sat back down, and opened the book. After reading the first paragraph, he found his mind wandering back to what Kabuto had said and analyzing it all for hidden meanings or hints. It was useless to worry about it, but Sasuke couldn't keep his mind off the possibility that he could have been found out.

Where had he gone wrong while covering his tracks? Obviously he messed up by not hiding his quick recovery since the last mission, but where else? He never let slip anything that might give him away since he rarely spoke to anyone, and he had gotten rid of her torn and bloodied clothes so that they wouldn't be found. Maybe Kabuto had counted the amount of chakra disabling bracelets and noticed one was missing? But why would that point to Sasuke as the culprit? No, that couldn't have been the reason.

When Sasuke sat and thought about it rationally, he realized that there was a good chance no one had discovered anything suspicious and he was simply reading too much into Kabuto's words. He really hadn't made any major mistakes in keeping his secret hidden and his worry was only paranoia. All he had to do was to continue acting the same as he always did and no one should suspect him of anything. In theory that was a good plan, but in reality he knew that something would have to be done about Sakura soon since she couldn't stay in his room forever.

The entire time he'd been thinking he had been looking over the words of the book, not really taking in their meaning. Realizing this, he turned back a few pages to the beginning and started again, determined this time to focus and not let his mind wander, but that proved futile as thoughts swirled in his head.

Sakura was watching Sasuke with a bemused expression on her face; he hardly ever took the time to sit still and read. As he stared at the book, she caught him glancing over to the door every few minutes or so, as if he was expecting someone to arrive. She could tell that he was agitated about something, but she knew he would never tell her. Even if she told him it was obvious there was something heavy weighing on his mind, he would only deny it and ignore her.

Having been on the same team as Sasuke and now through living with him, Sakura knew that he would have to come to the decision to tell her in his own time. If she really wanted to know she could ask him about it and convince him to let her in on his thoughts, but she thought it better to let him dwell on it alone for a while longer. Besides, Sakura had thoughts she wasn't ready to tell Sasuke about either.

During the long days she spent alone in the room while Sasuke was training, she had been thinking about her options. As she saw it, she had two major choices; she could either leave Sasuke, or stay with him. Facing those choices was like facing a fork in the road, with each path leading to completely different steps. She couldn't plan the next move without deciding to go one way or the other.

Staying with Sasuke meant that she would be looking at staying in the same room for an uncertain amount of time and facing an uncertain future. Leaving Sasuke would mean she could possibly regain the life she had been living before running into him. But could she really leave Sasuke after meeting him again? After thinking about it for days and playing out as many possibilities as she could imagine, she didn't think she would be able to. She had spent years thinking about him and wondering what he was doing and now she was a part of his life again, however small that part may be. If she could continue to be around him, it would make her happy. However much it broke her heart to think about never going back to Konoha, it killed her to think about never seeing Sasuke again.

Being with him had reawakened her old feelings and she could remember why she had loved him. He was everything she remembered, and more. Plus, this time at least, there was a possibility he felt something for her too, or why else would he have kissed her? He said it had "just come over him," but there had to be some emotion in order for that to have happened, right? Sasuke was, and would always be, an enigma, but he wouldn't be the same any other way.

What bothered her most about her plan to stay with Sasuke was that her friends in Konoha would never know how or why she disappeared. They would antagonize over her absence and always wonder what had happened. Surely some would think her dead, but others, like Naruto for example, would never give up hope for her safe return. She would become one of his many goals and he probably would try to find her as hard as he had tried to bring Sasuke back to the village. Could she really do that to Naruto? She had seen what Sasuke's abandonment had done to him and how much he had obsessed over trying to retrieve their teammate. Staying here would mean putting Naruto through all of the loss again.

It hurt to think about it but she had to make a decision, and who knew; maybe she would make it back to Konoha someday with Sasuke alongside her. If not, then maybe one day she could write a letter to Tsunade explaining the reasons behind her disappearance and to apologize for causing so much grief.

Sakura wasn't sure that the path she was picking was the best one, but for now it would have to do. However, if the right opportunity to leave presented itself, she might have to rethink her plan and take it. For now though, it didn't look like anything was going to change and she would spend more time sitting around Sasuke's room.

All the while Sakura had been mulling over her thoughts, Sasuke had been busy with his own. He knew that the only thing he could do at this point was to keep on pretending like everything was normal and not dwell too much on Kabuto. If he kept to his same routine it was likely that he wouldn't be bothered anymore by Orochimaru's puppet.

Sasuke looked down at the book he still held in his hand and gave up on trying to read it since there was no way he could concentrate. Getting off the chair Sasuke glanced at Sakura and noticed her staring unfocused at her book as if she had things on her mind as well. Although Sasuke was curious to know what she was thinking, he didn't think it right to ask. Hoping that a shower would help slightly to calm him before going to sleep, he headed toward the bathroom.

As Sasuke showered, Sakura prepared for bed. Climbing under the covers she continued to think about the benefits and costs of staying with Sasuke instead of trying to leave. It wasn't an easy decision, but she was at least going to live with it for the time being. Not that it mattered what she wanted since, in the end, her next move would depend on what Sasuke decided to do with her; at this point he was still the gatekeeper of her future.

After toweling off and putting on some clothes, Sasuke left the bathroom feeling no more at ease than he had earlier. Noticing that Sakura was already in bed he headed over to the light switch and turned it off before carefully making his way to the bed. He turned away from Sakura and shut his eyes hoping to fall quickly to sleep.

Before he knew it, he was standing alone and surrounded by complete darkness. Unsure of what to do he stood still, pausing to hear a sound of some sort or see something that would clue him in to what was going on. Slowly, a gray mist started creeping along the ground covering it in hazy forms. Feeling compelled to move forward, he began walking in a straight line. For some strange reason he felt like he should be searching for something. Picking up his pace he started walking faster, wondering where he could find the object of his newfound desire, but nothing revealed itself to him except the fog that was rolling in marginally faster.

It was at that moment he turned quickly around; sure that someone had been watching him and preparing to come at him from behind. However, no one was there; it was just the same misty darkness. As he slowly turned back the way he had been walking, he caught sight of a flicker of movement. Sasuke ran toward the spot he had seen the disturbance and looked around for whatever had caused it. The same movement occurred a little beyond where he was standing and he started to run after it, sure it was what he had been so eager to find earlier.

As he ran faster, the fog rolled in more quickly and made it harder to see the vague form that had coalesced in front of him. Every time he thought he was getting closer to the form, it would flit further away from him, almost urging him to follow. And then the feeling of being watched was back, stronger than before as he continued to chase the figure before him. Glancing over his shoulder he thought he saw someone behind him, but couldn't be sure due to the thickening mist obscuring his view and making it hard to breathe.

Agonizingly close to the form he was chasing he was distracted once again by his pursuer. Frustrated over the fact that he couldn't shake the feeling of being followed he stopped and tried to face down whatever was behind him. A cloud of fog more dense than the rest of the surroundings came toward him at great speed and Sasuke jumped out of the way.

When the cloud didn't return he continued his search for the figure that had been evading his capture, but it was nowhere to be found. He started running again, but the suffocating mist was making it harder to breathe and he slowed to a walk, laboring to get enough air to continue on. Just as he caught a clear sight of the form he had been chasing, he felt a hand grasp his shoulder and pull him backward into stifling darkness.

Sasuke sat bolt upright in bed, panting and trying to catch his breath. He felt like he needed to run from something but had no idea why. It was then he remembered his dream. It had felt so life-like that he wasn't sure at first how he had gotten into his bed from the place he had been. He looked around his room, trying to see through the darkness in order to make sure there was nothing there.

Suddenly he felt a hand touch his left arm and he nearly jumped out of his skin in surprise and fear. Jerking his arm away he realized it was only Sakura reaching out to him in the darkness. "What's wrong?" She asked sleepily, sitting up beside him in bed.

Sasuke was ready to deny his problems and claim it was nothing, but the after-effects of the dream still gripped him and he replied "N-nightmare."

"Do you feel like telling me about it?" Inquired Sakura.

When Sasuke kept silent she said "Well, no matter. It's over now, just try to relax."

She put a hand on his back and slowly drew it back and forth in a calming motion, hoping to ease his fright. If she had been more awake, she would have hesitated before starting to rub his back, but in her sleepy state she didn't think too hard on it or the fact that seeing Sasuke this jumpy was a rare occurrence. Sasuke sat still and let her gently ease his tension, surprised at how quickly she had been able to console him. The dream was still very much on his mind, but he began to shift back into reality.

As his breathing slowed to a normal pace Sakura leaned her head against his left shoulder and stayed there for a moment, letting Sasuke know without using words that she was there for him. After a few minutes sitting together, he turned toward her slightly, unable to see her clearly in the darkness but able to fill in her face from memory. Her tired eyes reflected what little light there was in the room as they looked at each other. Sakura moved slowly toward him and before he knew what was happening, she kissed him on the forehead, lingering for a moment before lying back down on the bed.

Stunned, he sat stock still for a moment before lying down and facing her, trying to understand the feelings that were coursing through him. Sakura reached out and found his hand on the bed between them and held it gently as she fell back asleep. Although Sasuke felt too confused and distracted to sleep, he soon relinquished himself to slumber as well.

**-0-0-**

Sasuke's coal black eyes opened as he slowly woke up, trying to figure out what felt so different about that morning.

The reason was made apparent when he looked and saw Sakura snuggled into his chest, his arm comfortably draped over her. _What the hell?_ He thought to himself before remembering the events that had transpired in the middle of the night. Thinking about it now, he felt stupid for being so frightened by his nightmare. He could charge headfirst into a battle without blinking, but he couldn't even handle a simple dream? _Sakura must have thought me incapable and childish. _

Sasuke exhaled quietly in agitation wondering if he could ever look her in the face again after last night's moment of weakness. However, she hadn't seemed to mind consoling him. She didn't push him to share what had startled him nor did she make him feel bad about being scared of a dream. In actuality, she helped calm him. Even more importantly; she had made him feel safe. Sasuke spent most of his time on edge, so having time when he was at peace was rare.

He was brought out of his ruminations by a movement from Sakura and he realized he was still holding her closely. He wanted to get up without disturbing her but didn't know if he could lift his arm and roll away softly enough.

As he was trying to figure out what to do, Sakura woke up. Her green eyes found his dark ones and they looked at each other from only a few inches apart. Almost at the same time, Sasuke drew his arm back and Sakura moved away from him, feeling her cheeks burn in an embarrassed blush. "S-sorry." She stammered, avoiding his eyes.

Unsure of how to respond he simply replied with "Hn" as he got out of bed and headed toward the bathroom with a change of clothes, glad to get away from the awkward situation. When finished, he walked back into the main room and said "I'm going to go train, I'll be back later." With that he exited into the hallway, leaving Sakura alone with her frenzied thoughts.

* * *

"Have you noticed?" Kabuto asked later that afternoon as he walked into the open room where Orochimaru sat.

"Noticed what, Kabuto? There is a lot that goes on around here." Orochimaru replied, even though he had an inkling as to what his assistant was talking about. Little went on in his compound without his knowing, plus he had servants who served as extra sets of eyes and ears and informed him of the goings on.

"It's about Sasuke. Have you seen him lately? I ran into him recently and noticed his wounds from his last mission were completely healed, he wasn't even wearing bandages! If I understood your description of his state, he sounded pretty beaten up. It should have taken much longer for the damage to heal without a trace."

"Really? No, I haven't seen him since he reported the end of the mission on which I sent him. You say he has completely healed? That _is_ curious; I'll have to go pay him a visit during his training soon. But, that finding might play into some other observations I've made and have been pondering." Orochimaru paused before sharing the rest of his views. Maybe he should let Kabuto speak first; it might provide him with more information before revealing his theory on the subject. "But first, Kabuto, how about you tell me your suspicions."

"Well Orochimaru-sama, when I noticed Sasuke didn't show any after-effects from the injuries he sustained, I went to the other healers in the compound to see if any of them had seen to him, which they hadn't. I questioned some servants about whether or not Sasuke seemed different and they said they think he has been taking food to his room instead of eating in the kitchens like he usually does. While that is not necessarily cause for concern, I did detect a different quality about him when I saw him recently."

Kabuto went silent for a bit, waiting to see if Orochimaru would interject his opinion. When he didn't, Kabuto continued. "Other than being more rude to me than usual, it seemed as if he had a lingering chakra around him that wasn't his. Now I know I could be wrong in this, but I suspect that he has someone staying with him in his room, and this person must have some sort of knowledge in medical ninjutsu. They must have healed him, which would explain the strange chakra traces around him." Kabuto explained.

"I'm impressed, Kabuto, both by your deductive reasoning and your skill in the finer points of chakra detection. I've recently come to the same conclusion as you, although I gathered some of it by slightly different means. I too have noticed faint hints of a strange chakra around him when he has reported to me. That aspect of chakra detection can be tricky since the affect is usually incredibly inconspicuous and almost nonexistent most of the time."

"I assume it must have stemmed from the extensive medical work it would have taken to heal Sasuke completely." Kabuto stated, glad to have his suspicions affirmed.

"Indeed. Also, some of my servants have told me that the water for the shower runs twice as often. I think the idea that someone is staying with him may be correct." Said Orochimaru.

"Who do you think it is Orochimaru-sama? I wasn't able to identify the chakra signature around him, but it seemed familiar. I want to say it's somebody from Konoha, but I can't be sure." Kabuto offered.

Pleased, Orochimaru smiled slightly and said "Once again Kabuto, you have proven to be correct. While you are very skilled in healing, I have a better memory for identifying chakra. The strange chakra to belong to a Konoha citizen. Do you have any idea which one?" Although he knew the answer, Orochimaru wanted to see whether or not Kabuto would be able to place it on his own.

"Not specifically, but for some reason I do seem to remember it in connection to the Nine-Tails."

"Very astute of you. I believe the chakra to belong to the pink-haired teammate of Sasuke and the Nine-Tails."

"Ah! That makes sense. What was her name again? Something along the lines of Sakura, right? I probably have information on her somewhere. Isn't she training with the Hokage Tsunade currently? That would definitely explain her healing abilities."

Kabuto thought silently to himself for a moment before asking "Forgive me for questioning your motives Orochimaru-sama, but if you knew about this, how come you haven't done anything about it?"

"Why should I care about Sasuke's whore?" Orochimaru said sardonically.

"Do you believe that to be the nature of their relationship?"

Thinking about it for a moment Orochimaru said "No, I guess not. But it hardly matters at this point. I haven't interfered because it hasn't caused me any trouble. Besides, I'm interested in how this is going to play out; Sasuke has never tried to keep a secret like this from me before."

The two were silent as they thought about what the next moves could be. Would Sasuke continue to keep quiet on this issue or would he eventually tell them. He had to come to them at some point because it was impossible to keep it a secret forever. After too long though, Orochimaru would have to confront Sasuke about his guest and inquire as to what Sasuke had been thinking. Did he really think a good captive would be a ninja from Konoha who had been determined to bring him home?

* * *

After talking about it for a long while, Tsunade and Kakashi had decided that the best plan of action would be to send Kakashi out after Sakura. He could use his summons to search for any traces of Sakura in the forest to see if he could find a lead. If he couldn't find one or if it led him to the tracker's last position near Orochimaru's suspected hideout, he was instructed to find out as much as he could without being noticed.

They debated sending Naruto with Kakashi on the mission since they knew he wouldn't give up until he searched every square inch of the forest, but they decided against it since they knew he would not be able to keep a low profile if they had to spy on the hideout. Getting both Sakura and Sasuke from Orochimaru's clutches would prove too much of a distraction for Naruto and he would compromise the secrecy this mission needed. Tsunade had wanted to send along at least one other person with Kakashi for she feared making the same mistake as she had with Sakura and she didn't want to lose Kakashi too, but he refused, saying that another person would only serve to slow him down.

At the moment, the silver haired ninja stood in front of the Hokage's desk as they went over the plan once again. It was early evening and Kakashi was going to set out at dawn the next day.

"Do you have everything you need?" asked Tsunade

"Yes. I've packed plenty of supplies and weapons, and I've had a chance to rest from my previous mission." The jounin told her.

"Are you sure I can't convince you to take someone along? An extra person could come in useful if you are attacked."

"Thanks for the offer, but the answer is still no. I don't plan on picking any fights, but if any come up I will try to get out of them as quickly as possible."

Tsunade frowned with worry and annoyance, she knew Kakashi could handle himself and if she wasn't going to change his mind she should just give up. "What will you do if you find evidence that Sakura really is in the area where we expect Orochimaru's hideout to be?"

"I will send you a message with information on the situation and await further notice. At that point, I think it would be worth it to send reinforcements who possess the skills needed to sneak into the compound. I won't do anything rash or without a plan." Kakashi said, then added jokingly "That's why we're not sending Naruto, remember?"

"Alright. Do you have any more questions?"

When Kakashi shook his head Tsunade sighed, she was nervous about this mission. Sending someone straight to a possible hideout of Orochimaru's was a dangerous gamble.

"In that case, I wish you luck tomorrow. And Kakashi, please do try to find Sakura, for me and for her friends. I don't think I could bear telling everyone that she might be gone for good."

Kakashi nodded in understanding. He didn't think he would be able to stand losing another of his students. First Sasuke and now possibly Sakura. The thought saddened him as he walked out of the Hokage's office, down the hall, and out into the darkening sky.

* * *

**Did you like it? I hope so. I got super excited about posting this after I'd written the whole Sasuke-gets-comforted-by-Sakura scene haha. Also, I have no idea if someone could detect lingering chakra on another person, but for the sake of the story let's pretend it can happen. Who knows, maybe it does? I hope it doesn't seem weird that Kabuto was able to remember Sakura so quickly and have information on her, but I was thinking about how he had all those cards of info on people during the chunin exams and thought I could extend that to this. That was him with the cards though I think, right? And it would also make sense for him and Orochimaru to be aware of who the people closest to Sasuke were and what they are up to. **

**But yeah, so anyway. I have a notecard of things to include in this story that kind of map out how the rest of it is going to go (I bet you would like to get your hands on that, huh? hahaha). I don't want say that it's only going to be a few chapters longer and then have it not be, so when I say it's going to be like 2 chapters more, take that with a grain of salt because almost anything can happen. **


	15. Chapter 15

**12-3-2011. Hello my wonderful and faithful readers! Sorry it's been so long. I've been busy with essays and reading and such. I find it hard to remember the beginning of the story where the time between my updates could be measured in days and weeks instead of months :( But now I've reached chapter 15! A number I never thought I would reach! I'm grateful for all of you who have stuck with me this whole time and for the new readers who probably randomly clicked on this link haha. Those last few lines sound kind of like a goodbye, but don't worry, I'm not done with this fic yet!**

* * *

With lightning fast moves, Sasuke made the hand signs he needed in order to spit fire at the targets in front of him. The heat blazed in the training room as Sasuke continued to let out the stream of fire from between his lips, holding it as long as he could. When he finally needed to take a breath he released the chakra and watched the room darken from the sudden absence of firelight. Hardly a second passed before Sasuke was launching another attack, this time with kunai and wire. Sending the weapons flying through the air, he soon had his targets trapped. If they had been real opponents, this would be the time they either had to surrender or die for Sasuke would have them at his mercy.

Stepping back he studied his handiwork and looked for any place where he could use improvements. He spotted a wire that had come loose from a kunai and went to investigate. _Hmm, I'll have to tie the knots better next time. I can't have them come apart in combat. _He thought to himself as he collected his weapons. Deciding to work on his fire jutsu some more he took a sturdy stance and made the familiar hand motions once again.

The room blazed as fire balls went shooting away from him, illuminating even the darkest corners. It was at this point he thought he caught a glimpse of something hiding in the shadows of the hallway. Not wanting to appear surprised he continued the barrage of flame all while surreptitiously glancing through the open doors to the dark hallway beyond. He had been so sure he had seen a face; a pale, snake-eyed face.

The thought that Orochimaru might be watching from the darkness put Sasuke on edge. It was one thing for Orochimaru to watch the progress Sasuke was making, but another for him to do it in secret. Usually Orochimaru liked to make his presence known so that Sasuke would display all his most difficult techniques in an effort to demonstrate that he was capable of harder missions. Watching from the dark hallway was spying, and Sasuke didn't like it.

Ever since Kabuto had dropped in on Sasuke's training, Sasuke had been agitated. He knew there was a good chance Kabuto had gone to Orochimaru and talked about Sasuke's quick recovery, so it made sense for Orochimaru to covertly check-in on Sasuke's training in order to see for himself. Sasuke really should have been more careful before returning to train after such a short time, but that was in the past and he couldn't change anything now, only adapt to the situation as it came.

Lighting up the room with fire again Sasuke looked into the hallway, searching for anything out of the ordinary. Seeing nothing, he released his jutsu and walked through the door into the space we he could have sworn Orochimaru had been earlier. From where he stood in the dark hallway he couldn't sense anyone nearby, but that did not necessarily mean the snake had slithered away since Sasuke knew Orochimaru was adept at hiding his presence.

Turning back and reentering the training room, Sasuke thought about whether or not Orochimaru had actually come to secretly check up on him. He had been jumpy ever since waking from his dream last night, so Sasuke could blame his paranoia for what he saw. Deciding not to dwell anymore on this mystery since he would never figure it out completely he tried to return to his training, annoyed at the fact that his concentration had been broken. He had had trouble that morning focusing his thoughts enough to train, and now he had to try to do it again. That time though, his thoughts had not been on Orochimaru but on Sakura, which was just as confusing a topic but more pleasant to ruminate on.

Waking up with her in his arms had been an experience he enjoyed, although he still felt a little uncomfortable about it since he wasn't sure if she had liked it. He had become used to her presence in his life but he didn't know if the feeling was mutual or not since they never talked about her confinement to his room. She had loved him once when they were young, but years had passed since then and her emotions toward him might have changed. However, last night she did kiss his forehead after calming him from his nightmare, which meant there must still be a part of her that wanted him.

But how did that make Sasuke feel; relieved, apprehensive, glad, worried? He couldn't stand the confused bundle of emotions that surfaced whenever he thought about her; it made everything so much more difficult to deal with, especially the issue with their future.

Sasuke still had not come to a conclusion about whether or not to let her go or have her stay with him. He would like to continue living like they were, but that was impossible and would mean he had to reveal her presence to Orochimaru, which was a task he had no desire to do. He doubted that Orochimaru would be okay with a Konoha ninja freely living amongst them and that he would probably want to lock her away. If that happened, Sakura would be sure to resent Sasuke. He knew the decision wasn't fully his to make, but he didn't want to bring it up with her just yet.

Exasperated with his confusion, he tried to clear his mind of all thoughts by focusing on a spot on the wall until his mind was blank and he was ready once again to train. Lifting his hands, they blurred with the speed of his hand signs as he started a new barrage of fighting on the invisible enemies in the room.

The day wore on as Sasuke continued to practice his jutsu and work through battle strategies in the training room. As far as he could tell, he had no more secret visitors during that time but he still kept an eye out just in case. Finishing his last routine of the day, he picked up his sword and weapons from where he had left them earlier and got ready to leave.

Walking through the dark winding hallways Sasuke made his way to the kitchens to eat something and also get some food for Sakura. There never was very much to choose from, but at least she never complained about her fare. He was tired of always having to figure out what to bring her to eat but he knew she couldn't do it herself without risk of discovery. This led him to once again think about what he should do about their predicament. Something _had_ to be done soon, but he just didn't know what.

Leaving the kitchens he headed to his room while contemplating the day he'd been having since he woke up that morning. Each day was different now that he no longer spent them alone. As he arrived at his door, he paused and was careful to study the surroundings before going into his room. From what he could see and feel, he was the only one in the hallway. Reassured that Orochimaru wasn't nearby, he unlocked the door and walked in. Sakura was sitting on the chair staring off into space but quickly snapped out of her trance when he entered the room.

"Welcome back." She said with a soft smile.

He nodded to her, deposited the food on the table, then headed to the bathroom to take a shower and wash off the sweat of the day. Earlier he had worried that Orochimaru might have stopped by his room, but seeing that nothing had been disturbed and that Sakura appeared to be fine, he relaxed slightly. As the water heated he undressed, then he stepped under the shower and let the water fall on his shoulders and run down his body.

He was tired; tired of worrying about being found out, tired of keeping secrets, and tired of being confused. Unless he did something about it, he was going to continue to wear himself out. He knew he shouldn't complain if there was a way to fix the problem, but all the solutions were more difficult than he wanted them to be. Sighing, he started to wash himself with soap and tried to think about nothing at all. Not surprisingly, it didn't work.

After drying himself off with a towel and putting on the shorts and t-shirt in which he slept, he reentered the room. Sakura had moved from the chair to the bed and looked to be entirely focused on the book in her hands. Checking the clock, Sasuke decided it was too early to go to sleep and instead picked up the book he started the night before. He sat in the vacated chair and opened to the spot where he had left off. To him this book wasn't very interesting, but it gave him something to do and he was grateful for it.

For ten minutes or so he was able to concentrate on the book, but soon his thoughts strayed back to what to do about Sakura and what would happen if Orochimaru found out. It seemed like his whole day had been busy with thinking about this and it was really starting to annoy him. Then an idea came to him to talk about it with Sakura, right now. For a few moments he battled with himself about whether or not this was a good idea, for broaching the subject could either prove helpful or it could drive a wedge between them. Although he wasn't quite sure what would happen, he opened his mouth to speak before he lost his nerve.

"Sakura, what do you want to do?"

She looked at him confused, unsure of what he was asking. "What do you mean?"

Sasuke shut his book and turned in the chair a little so that he could have a better position to converse, and to buy some time before speaking again. "I meant, what do you want to do about the future? You don't believe we can continue living like this for very long, do you?"

Sakura sighed, this had been what she thought he meant, but hadn't wanted to say anything until she was sure. "I know this situation won't last forever and that it was only a matter of time until we had to confront it, but I can't really make a decision until I know the full story of why I am here."

Sasuke frowned, he was hoping he wasn't going to have to do much talking, but it made sense that she wanted to know the full story. Taking a long breath he began.

"When I found you unconscious in the woods from your fight, I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to take you with me but it wouldn't have been right to just leave, so I ended up deciding to take you back here to Orochimaru's hideout since that was really the only feasible option I could think of at the time. I snuck in and brought you to my room so that I could keep you hidden. I didn't have any sort of plan, but I knew it would be better if Orochimaru didn't know about your presence. I knew I would have to wait for you to heal before either releasing you or imprisoning you, but one thing led to another and now we are here with no idea how to move forward."

Looking at him carefully, Sakura could tell that he felt unsure of himself, which was not a common sight. "Do you think Orochimaru knows I'm here?"

"Not that I'm aware of, but Kabuto said something the other day that put me on edge and I thought I caught a glimpse of Orochimaru during training today, which is unusual."

"What do you think we should do?" She asked him, wondering what Kabuto might have said but deciding not to bring it up.

"I don't know. I'm asking you because I know you can't stay hidden forever and we need a plan for that." Sasuke paused before saying his next words, not wanting to bring them up but knowing it had to be done. "In all honesty, what do you want to do? Stay or go?"

Sakura looked at him for a moment in surprise before looking away. He was giving her a choice and as far as she knew, he would let her decide her own future. The opportunity was amazing, but left her confused. She had gotten used to the idea of continuing to live with him, but now he was offering her freedom. Aware of the silence in the room but not sure what to say, she started talking about what she had thought and felt since waking up in his room that very first day.

"When I regained consciousness I had no idea where I was, it didn't seem threatening so I sat and waited. But once I saw you and learned where I was I got scared. I was afraid I was going to be forced to divulge information about Konoha for Orochimaru. As time went on and I realized I didn't seem to be in any danger I relaxed, but I was always thinking of a way to escape. I thought my chance had come when you left on your mission, but the disabling bracelet stopped me." Sakura stopped and took a few breaths. It felt odd to tell Sasuke about what she had been through and she felt self-conscious, but she continued on.

"After you returned terribly injured from your mission, I realized how badly I didn't want to lose you. It was terrifying to see you so broken and I started to remember the times before you left Konoha when we were a team. I guess nostalgia got the better of me and I thought about escape less and less and got used to the idea of staying here for a longer time since there didn't seem to be any chance to leave. After that we were so comfortable around each other that I could barely believe it. We were talking like normal people and it was easy to forget where I was."

Getting up from where she sat on the bed, Sakura began to pace back and forth a short distance as she started talking again.

"And then…and then you kissed me and I was so confused. It had taken me a long time to get rid of my feelings for you after you left and to have them brought to the forefront of my thoughts again was unsettling. I didn't know what you thought about me, and to be honest I still don't, but I knew you probably didn't dislike me. And now you ask me what I want to do, and I don't know. The other night I had decided that I wouldn't try to leave anymore and that I would like to stay here even though that meant abandoning everyone I love back home. But it seems like you are offering me a chance to leave now and I don't know whether I want to take it or not."

Sakura stopped pacing and stood still, trying not to look at Sasuke. She could feel her eyes starting to tear up as she thought about what to say next. After all this time, it had come down to this moment to make a final decision.

As he listened to Sakura explain the thoughts she had since discovering her predicament, Sasuke had been surprised by how much she had been mentally battling. He had been so busy with his own worries that he never stopped to fully comprehend what she had been dealing with herself. He was interested to learn that she had planned on trying to escape when he left on his mission, like he thought she might, and was glad he had used the disabling bracelet on her. If she had been left to her own devices, she could have gotten lost and wound up in a fight with Orochimaru and his guards.

Now he watched her as she tried to come to a decision. He stayed silent; not wanting to distract her from what he knew was a difficult choice since he still wasn't completely sure what he wanted either. He had an idea, but he didn't want to say in case it changed her answer. He wanted to hear what she honestly decided, so all he could do was wait.

Tears began to sting her eyes and run down her cheeks as she came to a conclusion and started to explain her thinking. "It hurts me to think of abandoning my friends and family in Konoha, I know firsthand what losing someone feels like and I hate to do that to them, but I don't think I could stand to lose you. Recovering from that would be harder this time and I don't know if I would be able to do it again." She took a shaky breath before continuing with "So, I guess what I'm saying is that I – I want to stay…with you."

Sakura didn't look at Sasuke's face even though she wanted to. If his expression showed displeasure, she didn't know what she would do. She stared at the floor feeling embarrassed and waited for him so say something.

Looking at her, Sasuke knew how much pain it caused her to decide to forsake her life in Konoha. That village was everything she had ever known and she was much more attached to it than he had been. Getting up from the chair he walked until he was standing right in front of her.

It was then he said "I want that too."

She lifted her head and looked at him, not believing what he had said. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, unsure of what to do now that they had opened up about what they wanted. Sakura smiled slightly before she was reminded about what still stood in their path, and then weakly asked "But, what about Orochimaru?"

In all honesty, Sasuke had actually forgotten about having to inform Orochimaru after hearing Sakura's decision. Not wanting to think about it now he simply said "We'll figure it out." He brought his right hand to her cheek and gently wiped away the tears that were still falling. She looked so beautiful standing there so close to him, and he bent to kiss her. Closing her eyes Sakura leaned to meet him in a soft kiss.

They stayed together like that for a moment before his arms wrapped around her waist and her hands slid up his chest, their kiss deepening. The feelings they had for each other but had kept mostly hidden suddenly swelled in them, increasing their passion. Sasuke ran his tongue gently along her closed lips, asking permission. He didn't have to wait long before Sakura invited him in.

She ran a hand through his soft hair that was still slightly damp from the shower, too enthralled with the current situation to think about how unbelievable this all was. If somebody had told her a month ago that she would be kissing Sasuke in Orochimaru's hideout she would have thought them crazy, but here she was.

When Sakura literally went weak at the knees and thought she was about to fall, Sasuke held her against him before lifting her and walking to the bed. Laying her down, Sasuke took off his shirt before climbing on top of her and continuing where they had left off. After a moment, Sakura reached for the hem of her shirt before breaking the kiss in order to pull it over her head.

Sasuke looked in her eyes, silently asking if this was what she really wanted. It wasn't too late to stop and he would be willing to if this was too much for her right now. Smiling up at him, she pulled his head to hers and pressed her lips against his, giving Sasuke all the confirmation he needed. Helping each other remove the rest of their clothes, they reveled in the feel of being so vulnerable and so close, both glad to be together like this.

They spent the night exploring their passions, losing themselves in each other in ways they never thought possible.

Though no words were used, they communicated every thought and feeling they had, knowing that the other understood completely. They fit perfectly together, like they somehow knew they would. After all the uncertainty and worry of the past days, they were finally able to forget about everything except what they felt for each other.

When at last they were finished, Sasuke got out from under the covers and turned off the overhead light they had forgotten about in their haste. Returning to the warmth of the bed and Sakura's body, they held each other as they drifted to sleep, cherishing the moment and not wanting to let the other go.

* * *

Following the small map Tsunade had given him that pinpointed the areas from which the trackers had sent reports, Kakashi soon arrived at the spot of Sakura's battle with the three rogue ninja. It had been two weeks since the battle had scarred the earth and foliage was beginning to regrow, slowly erasing the marks that had been left.

When the trackers were there they had disposed of the bodies of the three rogue ninja, so nothing was left in the clearing for Kakashi to find. He looked around for any clue that might lead him to a discovery, but nothing came into sight. If the skilled trackers hadn't found anything, Kakashi doubted that he would be able to do much better.

Quickly making the hand signs needed, he bit his thumb hard enough to draw blood and placed it on the ground. Almost instantly one of his tracker hounds appeared, looking at him and waiting for instruction. Kakashi opened his mouth and spoke. "If you could, please check around this area for a scent of my student Sakura. She did battle here about two weeks ago."

"Two weeks? That's a long time for a scent to linger and still be detectable. Besides, I don't even know what she smells like." The ninja dog said.

Kakashi reached into his pouch and pulled out a small scarf of Sakura's that had been left in Tsunade's office shortly before the ill-fated mission. The Hokage had given it to him for precisely this purpose. She would have sent it with the first pair of trackers, but there had been no ninja dogs or any other tracking animals available at that time. Guessing the item was something of Sakura's, Kakashi's summons stuck his snout into the fabric and inhaled deeply before starting to circle around the area, nose continuously twitching.

Watching him, Kakashi leaned back until he was sitting on the ground. He knew there was little chance of picking up a strong scent, especially after the heavy rains that had swept through the forest, but he still had to try. Kakashi was going to head out for Orochimaru's suspected hideout, but he wanted to see if there were any other possible trails to follow first.

He found it both terrifying and unbelievable that Sakura could have fallen into Orochimaru's hands. If judging by the wreckage of this site was any indication, he doubted Sakura would have been able to wander that far on her own, which implied she must have been taken. But who would do that? Orochimaru rarely ventured out of his snake-hole so it probably hadn't have been him. That left Kabuto, other loyal minions, and, of course, Sasuke.

Kakashi didn't think Orochimaru's other servants would have recognized Sakura and he knew Kabuto didn't often leave Orochimaru's side, so that left Sasuke. That was most confusing of all to Kakashi because he knew his former student and didn't believe Sasuke would bother to pay attention to Sakura, let alone take the time to kidnap her. It was more likely that he would have just killed her.

Horrible as it was to imagine, Kakashi knew Sasuke would be capable of doing so. Sakura had meant little to him, and if he had found her alone and weakened in the woods Sasuke could have finished her off. By why then take the body? If Sakura had been killed there would have been a good chance that her remains would still have been here when the trackers arrived, and at which point they would have been able to end their search. If Sasuke was involved with Sakura's disappearance, it could be possible that he took her to Orochimaru for the information she held about Konoha. Or, if Sasuke and she had crossed paths, she might have convinced him to let her come along.

Kakashi rubbed his face, trying to snap out of the trance-like state he had fallen into while going over all the potential courses of action. He mustn't let himself forget there was still a chance she had simply been picked up by a concerned citizen and taken to a small town the trackers had somehow missed, however unlikely that scenario might be.

The sight of his summons loping toward him from the other side of the clearing made Kakashi sit up straight and wait for the news. "Did you get anything?" Kakashi asked.

"Unfortunately, no. The rain and wind have carried everything away. It might have been possible if only a few days had passed, but it's just simply been too long."

Sighing, Kakashi closed his eyes for a second before opening them and thanking the ninja dog for trying. With a puff of smoke, the dog disappeared.

Kakashi knew it had been a long shot all along, but he had needed to at least try. Standing, he stretched his arms and legs before checking the map and heading in the direction he knew would lead him to the suspected hideout.

* * *

**Sooooooooo, did you like it? Did you enjoy the intimacy of Sasuke and Sakura? Yup, I thought you would ;) It's not a super descriptive lemon, but it's the closest I've ever come to writing anything like that so I hope it turned out okay! I really enjoyed coming up with this chapter and I was grinning almost the entire time I wrote their lemon-y scenes. **

**There's probably two chapters left. I know I said that last time, but this part went longer than I thought it would so I decided it would be a good place to stop, and because I knew you guys all really wanted an update. Haha, watch; I'm going to write the next chapter and then end up going "Oh, two left! I know I've said that before but this time I really mean it!" Hahahaha I don't know what's happening to my head. **


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